What Does Each Specialist Do?
Different dental providers bring different strengths to implant treatment. Understanding the distinction helps you make an informed choice:
Oral surgeons specialize in surgery — extractions, placing implants in the bone, and related procedures. Their focus is the surgical portion of treatment.
General dentists provide a broad range of care. Some place implants, though the complexity of full arch cases often exceeds routine general practice.
Prosthodontists are the specialists focused specifically on restoring and replacing teeth — including the design, function, and aesthetics of full arch restorations. A prosthodontist completes three additional years of residency training beyond dental school, concentrated on exactly these kinds of complex cases.
Why Full Arch Cases Benefit From Prosthodontic Training
A full arch restoration isn’t just about placing implants in the jaw — it’s about designing an entire set of teeth that works in harmony with your bite, your face, and your long-term health. This is the heart of prosthodontic training.
A prosthodontist’s specialist expertise is especially valuable for:
- Complex bite alignment (occlusion) across a full arch of new teeth
- Designing teeth that match your facial proportions, midline, and smile line
- Planning the final restoration first, then guiding implant placement to support it
- Coordinating both the surgical and restorative phases of treatment
- Ensuring long-term durability and function, not just day-one appearance
At Bedford Center for Prosthodontics, Dr. Paul Connolly approaches every All-on-4 and All-on-6 case with this comprehensive perspective — designing the smile first, then planning the implants around it.
The "Restoration-Driven" Approach
There’s an important philosophical difference in how implant cases can be approached. A surgery-first approach places implants and then figures out how to attach teeth to them. A restoration-driven approach — the prosthodontic standard — starts with the end result in mind: designing the ideal final teeth, then planning implant positions to support that design.
This is why Dr. Connolly uses RayFace 3D facial scanning and Cone Beam CT imaging to plan every case before treatment begins — ensuring the final result looks natural and functions properly, not just that the implants are placed securely.
Can a Prosthodontist Handle the Surgery Too?
Yes — many prosthodontists, including Dr. Connolly, are trained to both place and restore dental implants, allowing the entire full arch treatment to be coordinated under one specialist. This continuity means the person designing your new smile is directly involved in placing the implants that support it, reducing the handoffs and miscommunication that can occur when treatment is split across multiple providers.
In cases that call for collaboration with another specialist, a prosthodontist coordinates that care while remaining responsible for the final restoration — the part of the treatment you’ll see and use every day.
Questions to Ask Any Full Arch Provider
Whoever you choose, these questions can help you evaluate a provider for full arch implants:
- How many full arch (All-on-4 / All-on-6) cases have you completed?
- Will you handle both the implant placement and the final restoration?
- What technology do you use to plan the case?
- How will you ensure my new teeth match my face and bite?
- What happens if an adjustment is needed after placement?
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