Why does Done In One remove your full-arch teeth once a year?

The side you can't reach

Your new teeth have an outer side and an inner side. The inner side rests on your gums all the time.

A water flosser keeps it in decent shape day to day, but it can't get it fully clean, and you can't floss under fixed teeth. Over a year, buildup collects where no toothbrush reaches.

Why an X-ray isn't enough

X-rays through zirconia can be cloudy and don't always show what's going on. Taking the teeth off lets us see your gums and implants directly.

Why once a year

Each removal works the screws, so doing it too often causes problems of its own. Once a year is enough to catch things early without the visit itself becoming the risk.

Where we go further than the usual guidance

The American College of Prosthodontists' 2016 position statement says removing a fixed, screw-retained implant prosthesis for evaluation isn't needed unless there are signs of peri-implantitis (gum disease around implants), trouble keeping it clean, or a mechanical problem that requires removal. A practice that follows that is doing nothing wrong.

We do it anyway because of what we can and can't see. An X-ray through zirconia mostly tells you things are clearly fine or clearly bad, and little in between. Many older patients can't clean underneath as well as they think. And around implants, a small problem can become a serious one faster than around natural teeth.

Seeing everyone once a year is how we find the occasional person with a problem in time.

What happens at the visit

We start with your health history, since a new medication or a diabetes diagnosis can change our advice.

Then we take the teeth off and check the screws, the connecting parts, your gums and the implants. We take an X-ray and look the teeth over for chips, cracks or a gap against your gums that might need a reline. Then they go back on.

We'll also tap gently on each implant. A solid implant gives a crisp note, like tapping a screw set in hard wood. One that isn't fully joined to the bone sounds dull. Together with the X-ray, a torque check and a good look, that gives us the full picture.

What to ask any practice

Ask whether they take the teeth off to clean them, how often, and whether they have the tools to do it. Look for a practice with a clear plan for looking after you once surgery is done.

What it costs

Under the Lifetime Warranty, nothing extra when you're seen here. Removal, cleaning the underside, checking the implants and gums, and putting the teeth back are all included.

If you'd rather see your own dentist, that's fine and keeps your warranty active, as long as their office sends us records showing the cleaning was done on time. You pay their fee, and the included visit here isn't reimbursed for that year.

Under the two-year cover included with every case, paying for the visit is what keeps the warranty active: $350 per arch, or $700 full mouth. Outside any warranty it's $350 per arch. What each warranty covers is on the warranty page.

We include the visit under the Lifetime Warranty because a checkup people skip over a bill doesn't help anyone. The point is that we see you every year.