Firmly anchored to the jawbone by dental implants, permanent dentures offer patients replacement teeth that look, feel and function like natural teeth, sparing them the discomfort, dietary restrictions, bone loss and other common problems that come with wearing removable dentures. However, many patients are concerned about the length of time they’ll have to wait for those replacement teeth – after all, who wants to be toothless for months? While getting dental implants and permanent dentures was once a lengthy process, potential patients will be glad to know that things have changed.

Up until a few years ago, the process for getting fitted with permanent, implant-supported dentures involved several steps and months of waiting. Today, specialized implants and advanced surgical techniques have streamlined the process, allowing many patients to be fitted with permanent dentures as quickly, or sometimes even more quickly, as they could get traditional, removable dentures.

That’s because these newer procedures – like All-on-4 procedures – are done with immediate-load dental implants. Use of immediate-load implants allows prosthetic teeth to be attached to the implants immediately after they are surgically placed in the jawbone, eliminating the need for a months-long ossiointegration period between implant surgery and restorative treatment. Additionally, since these procedures use specialized dental implants, angled to take maximum advantage of existing bone, they can offer stable, secure replacement teeth in cases that once would have required the additional step of bone augmentation to achieve comparable results – a step that can add several months to the process.

All-on-4 and other immediate-load procedures, like traditional implant placement, are done in a series of steps, but with a key difference – most are completed before a patient’s surgical appointment. Patients will see their oral surgeon for one or two surgical planning appointments, then see their restorative specialist for the fabrication of their permanent dentures. Once the prosthetic is ready, surgery will be scheduled. During that surgical session, the oral surgeon will perform any necessary tooth extractions, complete the surgical placement of dental implants and attach the prosthesis to those implants, giving patients a complete, attractive and natural looking smile within just a few hours.

Modern, streamlined dental implant procedures, like All-on-4 dental implants, have freed many dental patients from facing a tough choice between the healthiest and most attractive solution to tooth loss and the quickest, most convenient one. With the ability to get permanent, implant supported dentures in a day, there is no reason to not to take advantage of the many benefits of implant-based dental restoration.

If you are interested in getting dental implants, contact our office at (202) 386-7100 for a consultation.