I had the all on 4 on my upper jaw in 2019. Total cost was around £14,000. I opted for having the procedure where I could snap the denture out in the interests in being able to keep the whole area clean myself.
There were a number of steps in this journey :
Step 1 - removal of the 3 remaining top teeth and insertion of the 4 implant posts. With the sedative, the procedure itself wasnt painful, though the pain started kicking in during the 3 hour journey home. I was in bed for a few days and there was quite a bit of swelling on my face above my top lip.
Step 2 - around a month later, I had an impression taken (which was awful as I have very poor gagging) and for some reason, which I now can't remember, had to have around 8 injections on the roof of my mouth, this was very very painful and I think I actually cried. All this was to do with the metal device that was being created for my new denture to snap on and off, precision was absolutely paramount.
Step 3 again around a month later, fitting of the metal 'bridge' onto the 4 implant posts - this wasnt so bad.
Step 4 around 3 months later, fitting of the new denture onto the metal 'bridge' - hurrah.
From between Step 1 and Step 4 I wore the temporary denture that I had been given.
Am I pleased with the result? Yes I am, my new top teeth look great and very natural, and with the metal bridge that they snap off and onto, no need for the gunk to keep the denture in place. A really important thing is sticking to the habit of cleanliness with mouth wash, brushing the metal bridge with a normal toothbrush and use of interdental brushes on the area between the top of the bridge and the roof of my mouth. Things are kept tip top with a six monthly visit to the dental place that did this procedure which involves a check to make sure everything is ok - and so far it has been - and a going over by the dental hygienist.
The reason I chose the snap in snap out was entirely to do with being able to keep everything clean myself. The option of having the denture permanently fixed in my own mind increased the risk of hygiene related infection, as well as buying into what can be very high costs of having a permanent fixture cleaned.
So yes, I'm pleased with the final result. Would I do it again after all that was involved? Hand on heart, I am not 100% sure. Both my husband and close friends have said they would not have gone through it.
I did a lot of research on choosing the dental practice to do this work and ended up going for one around 200 mile from me for 2 reasons - the long standing experience of the dental surgeon who carried out this work and also, to me very importantly, on the same site they had a team that made the dentures - in many practices this work is usually outsourced to labs that make dentures.
If anyone would like the details of the dental practice that I chose for this work, please do PM me.
