Full-mouth restoration on implants in Etterbeek, Brussels

You are probably a candidate if you have lost most of your teeth, if your remaining teeth are very loose or damaged, or if your denture moves and bothers you. Your general health needs to allow minor surgery and, ideally, you should not smoke or should cut down a lot. Only an assessment with an X-ray can confirm that treatment is possible.

There are several ways to replace all the teeth in one jaw on implants. A fixed bridge on 4 to 6 implants, such as All-on-4 or All-on-6, is screwed onto the implants and can only be removed by the dentist. When there is plenty of bone, a bridge on 6 to 8 implants, sometimes in several sections, comes even closer to natural teeth. Finally, a removable denture that clips onto 2 to 4 implants is a simpler, less expensive alternative.

The choice depends on the bone volume, the condition of the gums, your smile line, your health and your budget. The two jaws are often treated differently, for example a fixed bridge at the top and an implant-retained denture at the bottom. The basics of implant treatment are explained on the dental implants page.

After years without teeth or with a denture, the jawbone becomes thinner. All-on-4 techniques use angled implants to avoid a bone graft in many cases. When that is not enough, a bone graft or sinus lift rebuilds the bone, usually with 4 to 9 months of healing before the implants are placed or loaded.

For a full arch, allow most often 4 to 8 months from the first assessment to the final bridge. The implants are placed in a single surgery per jaw. When the bone is solid enough, fixed temporary teeth can be fitted within days, so you are not left without teeth. The final teeth are made after osseointegration, usually 3 to 6 months later. A bone graft lengthens these timings.

Placing several implants is done under local anaesthetic. Swelling and discomfort are normal for 3 to 7 days and ease with the prescribed medicines and ice. For the first few weeks, food should stay soft, and you should not bite into hard food with the temporary teeth. Most people return to light activity after a few days.

An implant bridge needs cleaning every day, especially underneath and around the implants, with a suitable brush, interdental brushes or a water flosser. Check-ups with professional cleaning about every 6 months are recommended; the bridge can be unscrewed at the practice if needed. With good follow-up, implants and bridge last many years; the resin teeth of a bridge can wear and be renewed.

Like any surgery, implant placement carries risks: infection, swelling, an implant that does not integrate and has to be replaced, or, more rarely, injury to a nerve or the sinus. In the long term, peri-implantitis (inflammation around the implants) is the main risk, made more likely by smoking, poorly controlled diabetes and insufficient cleaning. Some bone medicines or radiotherapy to the head and neck require medical advice first.