What are your tooth material options for an all on 4 teeth?
Tooth material options for your all on 4 teeth vary depending on your particular situation. Typically if doing an all on 4 or any implant prosthesis There are many options available for tooth material section for the all on 4 or other types implant prosthesis. The options will certainly continue to increase. We are probably to a point where the lab technicians preference and experience is more important than the differences in material to some extent.
Tooth material options for your all on 4 or implant prosthesis.
There are several many categories for you to choose from when picking your teeth out for your prosthesis. Factors that you can use to help you deiced are found below. The most important decision is actually whether or not you want individual teeth or a single unit or block of teeth.
- Traditional acrylic denture teeth
- Modern nano composite denture teeth
- Porcelain teeth not including zirconia.
- Zirconia teeth.
Traditional acrylic denture teeth for the all on 4 or implant prosthesis.
This was once our only choice and works ok for people if they are not clenchers, grinders, or hard on their teeth in general.
Pros:
- Cheapest materiel available
- Easy to replace and fix
- Standardized shapes and sizes to choice from
- In use for decades so we know a lot about them, which means people have experience with them and we know their weaknesses and strengths
Cons:
- Don’t look as nice
- Don’t last as long (wear down faster)
- Break out easier
Modern nano composite denture teeth for the all on four or implant prosthesis
These are the modern line of denture teeth and there is little reason not to be switching to these except cost. Phonares are one popular brand.
Pros:
- Reasonably priced
- Easy to replace and fix
- Esthetically they are very nice in my opinion.
- Standardized sizes
- Can bond to it and fix in the mouth
- Wear better than acrylic Esquivel JPD 2020
Cons:
- Break out easier
Porcelain teeth for all on four implant prosthesis
This is basically traditional crown and bridge dental work that happens to be on dental implants.
Pros:
- Holds up extremely well
- Can look beautiful
- Can customize however want.
Cons:
- Difficult and expensive to do well
- If breaks, expensive and difficult to repair (unless do individual teeth)
Zirconia teeth for your all on 4 implant prosthesis.
The newest porcelain in dentistry that is extremely strong.
Pros:
- Strongest material we have that is tooth color.
- Zirconia teeth hold up extremely well
- Can look beautiful but takes some skill
- Can customize however want.
Cons:
- If breaks, expensive and difficult to repair (unless do individual teeth)
- Makes a loud clicking sound when you have top and bottom teeth same (this is the only reason that zirconia against zirconia may not be the absolute best)
- Is the mode of failure now with the implants?
Factors in choosing tooth material for your all on 4 teeth
How hard you are on your teeth, what the opposite teeth are, how esthetic you want it to be and how much money you are willing to spend on the teeth are the main options I consider.
- Cost – porcelain and zirconia cost more
- Esthetics – most are pretty good, but porcelain can be amazing
- Longevity – porcelain and zirconia probably last the longest
- Experience of dentist and lab technician
- What the opposing jaw is
- Dental habits
- Type or prosthesis
My preference for all on 4 teeth
My person preference for restoring an all on 4 or any implant prosthesis changes depending on several factors but a prosthesis with individual teeth is most ideal in my mind. Be aware this option can add significantly to the cost though. Tooth material selection for me would be zirconia on top and nano-composite denture teeth on the bottom. The nano-composite act as our fail safe system and act as shock absorbers to a minor extent. The composite will wear slightly allowing for very minor imperfections in occlusion to self adjust. If you want to know more about substructure selection check out our framework all on 4 page.
Tooth material options – Individual teeth vs single unit for your implant prosthesis
Individual teeth are much more expensive but better long term because if something ever happens to a tooth we can simply change it out and give you a new one without having you give up all your teeth for several weeks. This option is not given very often because it is more difficult. I actually prefer it and try to make the cost not that much more than a prosthesis that is one unit.
Another interesting idea is to have the teeth and a bar be two separate units. This would work well if have a titanium bar or a resin type bar. It’s not as nice as individual teeth but would be cheaper than individual teeth and could more easily be replaced if something was to break. Just remill the teeth section, ok so not that easy if you did any Gradia gum characterizations or finishing work.