The possibility of full-arch rehabilitation for edentulous patients supported by 4 dental implants

Abstract

AIM. The objective of this study is to review possible methods of fixed prosthesis for patients with complete edentulousness using 4 dental implants.

RESULTS. Patients with complete edentulousness and significant alveolar bone atrophy often complain about unsatisfactory fixation of complete removable dentures. Dental implantation is used to make prostheses with stable fixation. Full fixed prostheses supported by 6–8 dental implants have the greatest stability and strength indicators, however, in some cases, with significant bone atrophy, the placement of a large number of implants is impossible. The “All-on-4” technique was proposed to accelerate the rehabilitation of elderly edentulous patients, which allows making fixed prosthesis supported by 4 dental implants without bone grafting procedures. This treatment method involves the installation of distal implants at an angle to the frontal plane in order to position the prosthetic platforms in the premolar area, which reduces the length of the distal console elements and distributes the occlusal load more evenly.

CONCLUSIONS. The “All-on-4” technique has become widespread among dentists due to its relative ease of performance, low cost and quick rehabilitation of edentulous patients. This treatment method shows high survival and success rates, and thus can be an effective alternative to placing more implants. However, this method of treatment requires further study from the point of view of functional changes of the dento-alveolar system in patients with complete absence of teeth and justification using the methods of electromyography of masticatory muscles and digital analysis of occlusion, as well as determination of critical values of angles of inclination of distal implants using the method of mathematical modeling.