Missing All Upper or Lower Teeth

Dr. Nick Gadler has placed over 20,000 implants in his career! He is specially trained to take on any dental implant case, in house.

What if I’m missing all of my lower teeth?

While many patients have no issues wearing an upper denture, some find it challenging to wear and eat with lower dentures. Several implant-supported replacement options are available if you are missing all of your lower teeth.

Ball Attachment Denture

One option is to place two implants into your lower jaw, with a denture designed to snap onto these implants – almost like trailer hitches. This provides greater stability for your lower denture while chewing compared to not using implants. However, there will still be movement of your lower denture, and sore spots may develop if food particles, especially seeds, get trapped underneath. As with all removable replacement teeth, periodic appointments will be necessary for denture adjustment.

Bar Attachment Denture

Another option involves placing four to six implants into your lower jaw, depending on its size and shape. After healing is complete, the implants are connected with a custom-made support bar. Your denture will be designed with special internal retention clips that attach onto the support bar, enabling the denture to snap firmly into place. This is called an “overdenture.” The advantage of this option is its enhanced stability compared to the first option. Additionally, your denture is still removable for easy cleaning and maintenance.

Screw Retained Denture

A third option involves placing five or more implants in your jaw and attaching a permanent denture. The denture is held in place by screws or clasps that secure it to the support posts or bar. It doesn’t touch the gum tissue, which allows you to clean under the denture without removing it. This denture will replace all your missing lower teeth and will only be removed during maintenance visits. Although cleaning under the denture without removing it can be time-consuming and requires greater dexterity, many patients who prefer a permanent solution choose this option.

Individual Implants

The final option is to individually replace each of your teeth, so they appear to be growing out of your gum tissue and closely resemble the appearance of your natural teeth. This option usually requires eight or more implants. Separate abutments or support posts are made for each implant, and crowns are placed for each missing tooth. The teeth are often connected for sinus grafting to restore bone height, strength, and support. Overall, this is the most expensive option due to the number of implants and the fabrication of individual replacement teeth. Your replacement options may also be limited by the current size and shape of your jawbone.

What if I’m missing all of my upper teeth?

A similar range of treatment options is available for your upper jaw. However, because the bone is not as dense as in the lower jaw, patients often require more implants to support their new replacement teeth.

Locator Removable Solution

Locator attachments made by Zest Dental Solutions have largely replaced the old ball anchor style of removable restorations for partial and full denture prostheses. Locators are round, flat top discs that provide far better retention, require less restorative space, and have components with far greater wear rates than ball anchor prostheses. Because of this, most clinicians have abandoned the ball anchor restorative method in favor of the locator method. 

The Zest Anchors are like trailer hitches allowing the patient to snap on and snap off the partial or full denture. This allows the patient to snap the prosthesis off themself, clean the implants and under their prosthesis then snap it back in. The Zest anchor system has special housings and gaskets allowing for the dentist to adjust the amount of force required for the patient to remove the partial or full denture. This can be adjusted from light to very strong depending on the patient’s desired removal force. The gaskets are easy to replace and very low in cost. On average they will wear out and have to be replaced between 1 and 2 years of use. 

BRAND NEW: Locator Fixed Solution

Until very recently, Zest anchors were only available for a removable solution as mentioned above. Now, Zest has innovated a fully fixed solution for their Zest anchors and it is a real game changer. Fletcher Hills Dental Implant & Oral Surgery Center has been a pioneer in this new and exciting field for the reconstruction of dental implants for patients needing a full arch solution. In Fact Dr. Gadler is the first Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon in San Diego to work with the manufacturer “Zest Dental Solutions” to develop, perfect and then offer this technique to his patients. This new Locator Fixed solution has many advantages over the “bolt-in” “All On 4” restorative full arch fixed solutions. There is vastly less bone reduction done in the implant placement surgery for the Locator Fixed solution compared to the bolt-in solution. When bone height is removed surgically (or due to trauma or disease) it doesn’t grow back. You need your bone to keep your implants healthy and your face from sagging.

Locator fixed is far less expensive – almost half the cost of standard “All on 4” “bolt-in” solutions. Locator fixed allows for easy removal of the prosthesis by your dentist with replacement gaskets being a fraction of the cost of the screws used for bolt-on solutions, so the recurring costs to maintain the prosthesis with prosthesis removal, professional cleaning around the implants, and replacement of the prosthesis is far less costly and easily affordable for almost every patient. The only difference between the Locator fixed and the Locator removable solutions is the housing and the gaskets / inserts inside the denture. Patients with Locator removable solutions can simply have their prosthesis retrofitted to add the new housings and gaskets / inserts – they do not have to change the implants or the locator attachments for a fixed solution. However many patients with Locator removable keep their removable prosthesis as is and have a new Locator fixed prosthesis made enjoying the best of both worlds. This means they always have a spare at the ready in the unfortunate event they lose their prosthesis or it breaks or needs work.

Some patients use their Locator removable prosthesis for routine everyday living then go to their dentist to have their Locator Fixed prosthesis inserted just prior to going on cruises or vacations. That way they don’t have to worry about taking their prosthesis out and leaving them somewhere. Some patients prefer to have the Locator fixed solution and not have a removable solution at all. Those patients go to their dentist every 3-6 months, have their prosthesis removed, the implants & prosthesis cleaned and snapped back in. The Locator solution simply is the very best solution that currently exists in implant dentistry.

Some can’t afford to pay for the cleanings and parts, so they stop going to the dentist altogether. This leads to inflammation, infection, bone loss, and implant failure, ruining their investment and leading to costly and invasive surgeries to try to repair the problem. The problem lies in the “All on 4” “Bolt-In” surgery, prosthetic design and the restorative method used to secure the restoration.

The Locator Fixed Solution eliminates these problems. So for patients that want a fixed full arch implant solution, we highly recommend Locator Fixed. It is simply the very best solution available at restoring self-confidence, self-esteem, and quality of life. Eat what you want and look great doing it, at a price almost everyone can afford.

Benefits:

• Much less jaw bone removed during surgery.

Cost

• Reduced chair time and procedure costs.
• Lower procedure fees due to a lower need for bone reduction.
• Lower Fees due to Significantly Lower Product costs

Surgical Anxiety

• Less invasive procedure option.
• Less pain due to minimal bone reduction – much less trauma to the areas.
• Restore confidence and freedom with a permanent teeth solution.

Fear of Failure or Hidden Costs

• If an implant faces complications, repair and retreatment options are more affordable, allowing patients to have a fixed or removable result instantly with minimal chairtime.

Time

• Shorter chairside processing time.
• Shorter overall procedure duration.
• Shorter recall/hygiene appointments.

Individual Upper Implants

If you want a restoration that is similar to your natural teeth and therefore not removable, you probably will need eight to ten individual implantsplaced. This is followed after healing by the placement of the abutments and new replacement crowns.