During their consultation, many patients ask this question: how many dental implants do I need?
This post will address the purpose behind this question and share relevant information that will help you in your search for a dental implant provider.
Table of Contents:
- The Question is About Long-Term Success
- The Bare Minimum for a Full Arch
- Our Office’s Unique Approach
- For More Information
“How Many Dental Implants Do I Need?” Is About Long-Term Success
The idea behind the question, “How many dental implants do I need?” is really, “How many dental implants do I need for long-term success?” It also usually pertains to full-arch cases.
This must be stated up front: this question is going to vary per individual. Dental implant care should never be one-size-fits all.
Only God knows your personal ability or inability to hold a certain number of implants. Many factors are at play per patient: bone density, how much force they apply when they chew, their ability to maintain proper hygiene, etc.
So there is no universal rule that applies to all people for this question. However, with a CT scan, our dental implant dentist can make an educated and professional diagnosis per patient as to the optimal number of implants their upper or lower jaw can healthily support, and which types of dental implants would be best.
Therefore, to get a firm answer on this question for yourself, we recommend scheduling a consultation with Dr. Steve Brown and asking for a CT scan during your visit. With a CT scan, Dr. Brown can give you a precise treatment plan for your specific needs.
4 Dental Implants Is The Bare Minimum for a Full Arch
While there is no universal answer on how many dental implants a person needs for long-term success, there are a few principles we adhere to in our implant office in Fort Worth, TX that provide clarity on this question. The main principle is that at least 4 dental implants are needed to secure a full arch, and that 4 is often not enough.
Currently, All on 4 is the most common treatment used in implant dentistry for replacing an arch of teeth. Again, in the opinion of our office, 4 dental implants is the minimum number of implants needed for the long-term success of a full arch prosthetic.
However, it is also our view that more than 4 is usually needed for a healthy chance of long-term dental implant success. One of the problems with All on 4 is that if just one implant fails, the entire prosthetic fails.
We Give You As Many Implants As Your Anatomy Will Allow – At No Extra Cost
In our office, our approach is to give each of our patients the maximum number of dental implants that their anatomy will allow without major grafting procedures.
We know that the more implants we can place, the better the foundation for the prosthetic. The better the foundation, the higher the likelihood is for long-term success. With All on 4, all of the implants must be placed perfectly, or the prosthetic will eventually fail. But with our approach, this is not the case. Even if one dental implant did fail, the prosthetic will still be stable.
Moreover, what we have found by placing so many implants is that we reduce the force per implant that each implant must bear. Less force per implant means less stress that each has to support over time, making them last significantly longer.
Let’s use a simple math example. Let’s say the strength of your bite is 500 lbs per square inch (this is common). With 4 dental implants, that 500 lbs of force will be split 4 ways. So assuming an equal distribution, each implant will have to support 125 lbs of force with every bite.
However, if 10 dental implants are underneath a prothetic supporting the same amount of weight, that 500 lbs is divided by 10. So each implant would be supporting 50 lbs of forcer per implant, which is much less stress per implant (60% less) than with only 4 implants.
So the more implants you have, the more likely each implant is to succeed long-term. At our dental implant office, we want to go the extra mile to ensure every patient’s long-term implant success. That’s why we offer as many implants per prosthetic as your jaw can healthily support, at no additional cost to you. Our average is 10 dental implants per arch, though we often place more.
Schedule a Consultation for More Information
Implant dentistry should never be one-size-fits all. In our practice, it never is.
You have unique needs and circumstances and deserve a treatment plan that sets you up for long-term success, whatever that looks like for you.
Fill out the form below to schedule a free consultation with our team at The Dental Implant Place in Fort Worth, TX. You can find out how many dental implants your bone could healthily support by choosing to get a CT scan during your consultation.
