Broken All On 4 Dental Implant Bridges





 

I have been seeing a rise in complications on patients who have had the ALL ON 4 dental implant procedure.  Many patients end up in my office for redo treatment after things have gone very wrong.  I’m seeing a lot of broken bridges and bone loss recall peri-implantitis.  In this video I will discuss what to do to prevent and deal with this complication.

Below are some pictures of broken bridges.

Your comments and questions are welcome.

Ramsey A. Amin, D.D.S.
Diplomate of the American Board of Oral Implantology /Implant Dentistry
Fellow-American Academy of Implant Dentistry

19 thoughts on “Broken All On 4 Dental Implant Bridges”

  1. Hi

    I had implant completed I am not two months away from getting the permanent one placed in however, the implant given for healing is broken. What is your recommendation

    Reply
    • Sounds like you have an acrylic fuse to metal bridge which is quite weak. I would suggest you upgrade this to a more premium zirconia material. Even if you fix it it is likely to fracture again 😕

      How long have you had it?

      I never use acrylic because of this main reason.

      Reply
  2. Hi Doctor Ramsey I am gettin Dental implants for the lower jaw,a total of 6.The original plan was to have 3 bridges on 6 implants with minimum bone loss.The bridges we discussed were to be 4 teeth each.For some reason the plan changed to 3 bridges with two 3 teeth back bridges and 1 front bridge with six teeth.I had my bottom teeth extracted total 11 teeth.I was told that pink acrylic could be added to the gum for esthetic purposes only and I agreed with this.I got the provisional and was blown away with the bulkiness of it and had trouble adjusting and panic attacks. I am now being persuaded to have the the full arch screwed denture instead of the 3 bridges because of the stability and bite force is more evenly distributed.I want to ask you if believe that 3 bridges vrs full arch on 6 implants will last longer.I also believe that insurance will cover the bridges and not the full implant arch.I also think that this was a bait and switch routine on the part off the dental school.I never imagined that the bone was not going to be built up for a more realistic end result.I feel they took half my jaw away by waiting 8months to put the implants in and I believe they filed my bone without my permission.I got got tooth bone preservation at the time of the extraction.I am also questioning if this was necessary since they waited to long and filed my bone. Thank you Thomas

    Reply
    • The round house, full dental implant arch will last longer. Connecting implants from one side to the other creates excellent distribution of force and has long-term studies. They are both very good options. Sometimes building the bone back on full arch can result in bone dissolving away within a few years. Bone leveling for full arch can be a more predictable result for many patients.

      I agree that it is a bit strange that you had socket bone preservation done and then bone leveling later. Of course it is impossible for me to say without seeing you in person. It sounds like you are having treatment in the dental school which can be a little bit strange at times but usually ends up with a good result.

      Good luck

      Reply
  3. I have full set on 4 posts on both top and bottom . I got them last year and they have fractured at the post 4 times , three times in the same spot in the back bottom and one in the front on the top. I wasn’t eating anything major, chips, enchiladas, nothing too hard

    Reply
  4. I am a 35 year old female who has had the all on 4 procedure done a little over 2 years ago and I have unfortunately had 7 procedures on my upper jaw due to lack of bone and failed implants or cracked off bridges and implant replacement. with health issues that sometime prevent my body from working properly what would really be a solution to this problem? and furthermore since a bridge or denture is my future if i want to eat food, how can i suggest to my dentist how to make bridges for me so that pieces stop chipping off of them?

    Reply
  5. From: m s
    Date: February 14, 2018 at 2:17:22 PM EST
    To: [email protected]
    Subject: Snap in denture

    I also have the snap in on the bottom. Two snaps placed on the bottom front. (around or about 11 & 1 o’clock) This procedure was started around the first week in March, 2017.

    I loved them at first! The first time I could actually eat with them, food went immediately underneath them. I still loved them though. I was told that would be corrected. (Has not been corrected to date) And not noted in my file.

    After a couple of weeks they started lifting. I could easily pop them out with my tongue. I immediately called my dentist. This was on a Friday. He told me that wasn’t suppose to happen and NOT to eat with them and wear them only when I must. It could damage them and/or the post (implants) and to be at his office on Monday morning. He died in a terrible accident that same Friday afternoon, in April.

    A month or so later his wife/office manager sent me to another dentist, about 70 miles from here, to check them and adjust the bite. Thanked me for being so patient and she would soon have someone in to pick up/take over the practice.

    The dentist she sent me to did a wonderful job on the bite adjustment. Unfortunately, he doesn’t do the same type of implants. He only does mini implants. He told me to use cream to fill in because they were loose fitting. I was VERY careful not to eat with them.

    Eventually another dentist came into his practice to take over/buy it. He told me I could eat with them. Now, after going through every color of the little inserts that go into the holes in the denture to keep them securely in place and therefore adjusting the bite each time, the back teeth are now flat causing me to grind food instead of chewing and still will not stay snapped in.
    They are so loose fitting now that it rises up and off the post causing the post to hit the denture when eating. On top of that one of his assistants took too much off one side of the upper and now it doesn’t have suction to hold it in place.

    The new dentist sent me to someone else, dentist/oral surgeon before Christmas, to look at the problem. He wants to do a special dental cat scan, starting at around $400.00. I can’t afford that right now. Plus he told me the post weren’t placed in the correct place. It took until mid January for the two dentist to actually talk about my unique situation. The new/old dentist finally tells me he can’t do anything until I have the scan done by the new dentist /oral surgeon which I cannot afford right now. And to be careful eating.

    If I don’t keep my tongue on them while practicing yoga, they will fall out.
    They did fall out last night and broke in half. Called this morning and was told to come in and they would see if they could fix them if not I would have to purchase new ones.

    It cost me $125.00 to have the bottom repaired. I also found out the “new” dentist is not fixing the problem without being paid. More than $2600.00 to make a new bottom that may fit properly.

    Had the Cone Beam Scan done. The oral surgeon that did it says one of the implants is slightly leaning. I already knew this. I can feel it. That is why the gum stays irritated at the base of the post. He says the 2 post I have is not enough. I need 4. That’s $4000.00 more. He also told me he would never do just 2 for someone my age. It simply will not work. If I were 90 and just wanted them for church he would agree. He told me this the first time I saw him also.

    The bottom broke again! I was eating a slice of pizza. One tooth is missing at the break line, yeah I must have swallowed it, and will now cost me $200.00 to repair. That’s with a $50.00 discount. I was told they will break again. The person in the practice that makes the dentures said mine were wore out and I needed new ones! These aren’t even a year old yet!!!!

    Now the dentist, that took over the practice, is telling me I happen to be one of those people that need 4. Until I do that…. he just shrugged.

    I am at my wits end.

    Reply
    • yikes…..The best advice your given was by the surgeon that said 2 implants is not enough. You likely have very severe bone loss and only 2 implants still create a severe rock and a fulcrum point. I don’t think I would spend any more money trying to get them to hold in place because it sounds like your case was under engineered to begin with. If I were to have seen you as a new patient and you told me all you could afford was 2 implants I would steer you away from having dental implants whatsoever because the benefit would be minimal. Ideally you get rid of the denture altogether and go to a fixed, nonremovable bridge. Obviously this is more costly but you are quality of life will increase tremendously.

      Reply
  6. I had the all on 4 procedure 10 months ago. The front left tooth snapped completely off 5 weeks ago whilst eating. It came away whole and slots back into place. It is being fixed next week. Is this normal?

    Reply
  7. I had the last 11 teeth taken out 1/14/16, had a DMD make me the first set of dentures which NEVER fit even after several re linings. After 8 months he told me the next set would fit about the same. I had a reaction to the lining; soft lining and was NEVER ABLE TO ADUST. I could not afford implants. So I learned to use a soft lining and still was never able to chew with them so they became cosmetic in nature. Dealing with a back injury and going from dentist to dentist I finally agreed to have two implants put in the bottom front. I have almost no ridge of the bottom and received the dentures; very hard and they immediately put pressure on the nerve in lower inside ridge on right side. So here I am again!! I have two implants sitting under the gum and they are anxious to complete the bottom with bar an screws but I don’t see the logic in doing this until I am able to wear these without pain!! They insist that they don’t do soft linings; although there are many permanent soft linings now available.. In your opinion do you know of one that would work with the two implants? I am facing reconstructive surgery on back and need to figure this out. I would so appreciate any help here..
    thanks!

    Reply
    • If your bone is truly very thin then two implants are not going to help that much. A minimum of four implants would be much better to distribute the load and spread out the pressure more evenly.

      What counts the most is how the lower overdenture fits well the implants are attached not just by itself. Most of the time, when done correctly these are bulletproof for many years. I hope everything works out for you. I hear your frustration.

      Reply

Leave a Comment