All-on-4 Full-Arch Implants in Southern Pines, NC

Q: Will I ever take these teeth out?

Only your hygienist will, once a year. The bridge is anchored to the implants and lives in your mouth full time — no nightly removal, no soaking, no adhesive. Day to day you brush it and clean beneath it with a water flosser; at the annual visit it is detached for a deep cleaning, then set back.

Q: How much should I budget?

Plan on roughly $25,000 up to $50,000 for a single arch, with most routine cases in the $30,000-to-$40,000 range. Where you fall reflects the bone present, the difficulty of extractions, and the prosthetic materials chosen. Two arches together generally come to less than commissioning each on its own.

In the Sandhills, where so many residents reach the point of choosing between a lifetime of dentures and something better, All-on-4 has become the treatment worth knowing about. It gives you back a full arch of permanent teeth on as few as four implants — teeth that stay in through dinner and conversation, ask nothing of adhesive, and are never set on a nightstand. At our Southern Pines office on Capital Drive, our doctors plan and place these cases themselves, on site, guided by a 3D cone-beam scan that turns full-arch surgery into something dependable rather than hoped-for.

Why it resonates with our Sandhills patients

Two frustrations bring most people to this page. The first is a denture — an upper that has been relined one too many times, or a lower that simply will not stay where it belongs — and the wish to be finished with it for good. The second is an arch of long-serving dental work, crowns and bridges placed decades ago, all reaching the end of their usefulness at once. In both cases, All-on-4 offers a way out that does not mean rebuilding tooth by tooth or resigning yourself to a plate. And for the many patients who have been told their bone is too far gone for implants, the angled technique behind All-on-4 frequently makes treatment possible without the extensive grafting they were quoted elsewhere.

What the treatment is

Traditional thinking put an implant under every missing tooth — fourteen or more per arch, at a cost and surgical scale to match. All-on-4 sets that aside. A small number of implants are placed at calculated angles to catch the strongest bone and carry the bite across the whole arch, and one fixed bridge of twelve to fourteen teeth is mounted to them. The implants bear the load of chewing while the bridge restores the smile. Certain cases benefit from five or six implants, sometimes called All-on-6, but the design does not change: a few sound anchors supporting one permanent, non-removable set of teeth, brushed like natural teeth and cleaned beneath with a water flosser, with a yearly professional removal for deep cleaning.

All-on-4 or an implant-supported snap-in denture?

The two are cousins, not twins. An implant snap-in denture holds to two to four implants for daytime security and is taken out nightly to clean; it costs considerably less and keeps a removable denture as its visible piece. All-on-4 secures a dozen or more teeth to four or more implants that stay in permanently — the larger investment, and the closer match to natural teeth. We set both plans in front of you at the consultation, weighed against your priorities and your budget, and let you decide.

Cases we frequently treat in the Sandhills

The Pinehurst retiree, finished with a long-worn upper denture. He had worn the same upper for many years, relined more than once and past saving, with a few weak lower teeth beneath. We arranged an upper All-on-4 and a lower implant-supported denture, removed the failing lower teeth on surgery day, and seated a fixed temporary upper that afternoon. Around $42,000 across the plan — and, as he put it, a decade overdue.

The Whispering Pines patient with 1980s work expiring together. Old crowns, bridges, and partials across both arches, every piece arriving at the finish line at once. Coordinated All-on-4 across the full mouth over roughly nine months made far more sense than replacing each restoration by hand. Near $59,000 in total, and a result years of piecemeal repair could never match.

The Aberdeen patient previously refused for bone loss. Two earlier consultations had called his upper bone insufficient. Our scan revealed enough sound bone for angled placement clear of the thinnest areas, and we treated the upper arch without significant grafting. About $31,000, and fixed teeth he had nearly given up on.

The path from consultation to final teeth

Full-arch care spans about eight to twelve months and moves through three clear stages:

Consultation and plan. We capture a 3D scan, chart exactly where the implants will sit, identify any teeth to be removed, and give you a written plan and an itemized cost before you commit to anything.
Placement day. Failing teeth in the arch come out, the implants go in, and in most cases a fixed temporary bridge is attached the same appointment — you leave with a full set of teeth, not a gap.
Final restoration. After three to six months of healing, once the implants have integrated, the temporary gives way to your permanent bridge, refined to your bite, comfort, and preferred appearance.

Cost at our Southern Pines office

A full-arch reconstruction here runs roughly $20,000 to $25,000 per arch. The figure tracks your particulars: how much bone remains, how demanding the extractions prove, and which prosthetic materials you choose. Because the imaging, planning, and surgical time overlap, doing both arches together typically totals less than two separate treatments. Most medical and dental policies contribute toward part of the care, which we confirm ahead of time, and Sunbit or a longer-term medical loan covers whatever remains your responsibility.

More on Implants: Southern Pines Dental Services -- Snap-on Dentures in Southern Pines -- All-on-4 Across North Carolina

Southern Pines All-on-4 Implants — questions we hear

Will I ever take these teeth out?

Only your dentist will, once a year. The bridge is anchored to the implants and lives in your mouth full time — no nightly removal, no soaking, no adhesive. Day to day you brush it and clean beneath it with a water flosser; at the annual visit it is detached for a deep cleaning, then set back.

How much should I budget?

Plan on roughly $20,000 to $25,000 for a single arch. Where you fall reflects the bone present, the difficulty of extractions, and the prosthetic materials chosen. Two arches together generally come to less than commissioning each on its own.

What does the timeline look like?

Roughly eight to twelve months in all. Extractions, placement, and a temporary bridge are completed in one surgical appointment; the implants knit to the bone over three to six months, after which the permanent bridge is fitted.

Another dentist ruled me out for bone loss — should I ask again?

Yes. Angling the implants toward the soundest remaining bone lets many patients proceed who would have needed extensive grafting under a one-implant-per-tooth plan. We review a 3D scan and give you an honest answer.

Who carries out the surgery?

Our doctors handle every full-arch case here at the Southern Pines office, planning from imaging taken on site. Nothing is referred out or assigned to a visiting provider.

Arrange a full-arch consultation

Bring any earlier imaging with you. We’ll capture a 3D scan, give you a candid read on candidacy, and provide an itemized estimate. New patients welcome. Se habla español.