A New Approach to the All-on-Four Treatment Concept Using Narrow Platform NobelActive Implants

Although a number of approaches to implant-supported restoration of severely atrophic maxillae and mandibles have been developed, most of these treatments are costly and protracted. An exception is the All-on-Four concept, which uses only 4 implants to support an acrylic, screw-retained provisional prosthesis delivered on the day of implant placement, followed by a definitive prosthesis approximately 4 months later. After the introduction of a new implant design in 2008, a new protocol was developed for provisionally treating patients with severely atrophic jaws using the All-on-Four concept and 3.5-mm-diameter implants. This article describes that protocol and reports on the results of 227 implants after 1 to 3 years of follow-up. The cumulative survival rate was 98.7% at the end of 3 years, with a 100% prosthetic survival rate. Combining the 3.5-mm-diameter Nobel Active implants with the All-on-Four concept promises to become a new standard of care for severely compromised patients.