What is the Success Rate for "All on Four" Dental Implants?

All on four has shown some great success in cases where conventional wisdom would suggest that all-on-four was pushing the limits of our experience.  While it is usually considered to have some very narrow applications and believed that it cannot be used for EVERY case, this approach is becoming more common.  For the cases that are appropriate, success is good.  Depending on type of final restoration, quality of bone, bite forces and other factors, "all on four" may work for you.


As far as insuring no adverse reaction, nothing is 100%.  Titanium is not recognized by the body as foreign, so there is no rejection of the material.  However, if infection is present at the time of placement or during the healing phase, then success rates go down.




If all on four is not appropriate, more implants and additional augmentive surgeries will increase chances for success.

While you may read that the success rate for implants is quite high nowadays (e.g. 99% or even higher), it all depends on a variety of factors. The brand and material of the implants is key, because scientific tests have shown certain materials such as Titanium to be most compatible with human bone and therefore have greater chances of integration. Many top tier companies have patented their own designs of implants which are also recognized for achieving greater torque, etc. The patient's set of circumstances will also affect the chances of implant survival. Will patients comply with post-op instruction during the healing period? Are they smokers? Do they suffer from diabetes or other health conditions that may compromise or slow down integration? Lastly and most importantly, the skill and experience of the implantologist is crucial, as is the approach used in installing the implants. All-on-Four implants tend to have higher chances of success because implants are splinted together with the provisional denture during the healing period. This distributes chewing pressure more evenly, preventing undue strain on any single implant.

Full arch implant treatments have a very high success rate overall, but there are different outcomes depending on how the case is planned out. When a patient presents to our office wanting full arch implant treatment, I do not stop with 4 implants. I place as many implants as the bone will allow.  The reason for this is more implants more foundation. This basic building principle applies to building houses and also dental implants because if there are 8 implants and 1 fails, it is not a big catastrophic deal. If there are  4 implants and 1 fails, the whole structure fails.