Last Updated on November 16, 2023 by asifa
This bridge is similar to a “traditional fixed bridge” but instead of being cemented in place to teeth, it is held in place by implants. It happens that the condition of teeth can be so bad that they do not stand to save. Here you have the opportunity to replace the lost teeth with an implant-supported full jaw bridge. Here you put 12 soldered crowns on 4-6 implants, depending on whether it is the upper jaw or the lower jaw. The treatment is time consuming and expensive, but the result is that you get a completely new set teeth without the problems that come with being a denture wearer.
If you think that an implant-supported full jaw bridge can be the solution for you, contact us and get a preliminary study with a price estimate. In a preliminary examination, we can help assess whether it is the best treatment for you.
Table of Contents
Overview of the treatment from start to finish
Removal of the bad teeth and delivery of a complete denture (2 weeks): Healing (3-6 months)
Implant treatment if necessary. Bone Building (1-2 hours): Healing (3-6 months)
Healing abutment operation (30 minutes): Healing (14 days)
Imprint for temporary full jaw bridge in plastic (45 minutes): Waiting time 14 days
Delivery of temporary full jaw bridge: Adaptation phase (2-9 months)
Testing of titanium frame for the final implant-supported full jaw bridge and meeting with dental technicians, dentist and patient (1 hour): Waiting time 14 days. Delivery of final bridge (45 minutes).
Implant-supported full jaw bridges
Full jaw bridges are a great solution for those patients where their own teeth are not worthy of preservation. In other words, in cases where the patient’s set of teeth cannot be saved, and the only alternative is to remove all the teeth and make a full denture (denture). Full dentures have been the only treatment for tooth lessness for many decades. Since there have been no alternatives in the past, patients have learned to live with the shortcomings and problems that come with treatment with full dentures. Examples of problems include: poor retention (they can fall down), it can be difficult to bite off food items, chewing can be difficult, tough food items must be avoided and in general all food that can pull in the prostheses can not be eaten without the prostheses fall out.
WHY IS AN IMPLANT SUPPORTED FULL JAW BRIDGE SO EXPENSIVE?
The treatment is very expensive as it involves many sub-processes both with multiple surgeries and many diverse treatments. Theoretically, some steps in the treatment can be “saved away” to reduce costs, whereby the treatment can be performed cheaper. You can, for example, omit “a temporary full jaw bridge in plastic” (read about this below) or use cheaper implants, whereby the price can be reduced.
This means that we are not the cheapest, nor the fastest, to perform an implant-supported full jaw bridge. Our goal is to create well-functioning, highly aesthetic and not least
predictably good treatment results of high quality. We try to be as cheap as our material selection allows. With a treatment for so much money, the most important thing, in our optics, is that the result is perfect. We therefore believe that it can be “expensive” to have to save those treatment processes away.
Treatment with bridge:
The first step in making an implant bridge is to have the bad teeth removed. When the teeth are removed, a full denture (Immediate full denture) is immediately handed out. That is, you will never leave the clinic without teeth. The prosthesis is also used diagnostically to establish your exact bite height. Thus, we know where the bite plane itself (where the jaws meet) should be so that your bite becomes ideal and that your jaw joints are not loaded. The prosthesis will be used for the next 6-10 months. If you have teeth with periodontitis in the opposite jaw, this must be treated during this period. In the next 3-6 months, your gums and bone should heal up after the tooth extractions. When the healing is complete, the jaw surgeon must assess whether there is a need for bone building. It happens that in the upper jaw, what is called a sinus lift is made. Bone building can sometimes be performed at the same time as the implant treatment.
After the first treatment
Then you go with the prosthesis for 3-6 months while the implants heal in the bone. Some choose to load the implants from day 1, which we do not do at the Dentistry. It is a slower process, but it is more gentle, predictable and durable.
After complete healing of the implants, a very small operation is performed – healing abutment operation. Here, the implants are opened up with a very fine small incision, in which a small metal cylinder (healing abutment) is screwed, which is to ensure that the gums
get the correct shape, corresponding to the porcelain teeth. The prosthesis is adjusted once more to make room for healing abutment.
Imprint to temporary bridge
14 days later, an impression is taken of what is called a temporary (temporary) bridge. The temporary bridge is very similar to the final bridge in porcelain, but is made of a cheaper, yet still highly aesthetic plastic material. The reason for making a temporary bridge is that you want to “capture” all the sources of error that can be and arise in a job that is so extensive and not least expensive. The temporary bridge is attached to the implants, and thus you no longer have acrylic in the palate, as with the full prosthesis. Likewise, the teeth are stuck, as if it were your own.
The final bridge
When both the dentist and the patient are satisfied with the temporary bridge, and have been given a clear overview of any corrections, then the final bridge can be made.
This final implant-supported full jaw bridge is made of a titanium frame, which is milled in one piece, on which porcelain is burnt, which should make the bridge look like a perfect set of teeth. The metal frame is tested on the patient before porcelain is applied. Before the final bridge is carried out, a meeting is held with the ceramic dental technician, the head of the dental laboratory, the dentist and the patient. Here, opinions and attitudes are exchanged in the expert team on how to achieve a perfect result.
