A fixed full arch of teeth
Full-arch implant treatment replaces every tooth in one jaw with a single fixed bridge, screwed onto several implants. It is not taken out at night, it does not cover the palate, and it carries chewing load into the bone the way natural roots do. How many implants your jaw can take is judged from the imaging: when the rear implants are placed at an angle they engage the denser bone at the front of the jaw and reach past the sinus in the upper jaw or the nerve canal in the lower, which is why four implants carry a whole arch in many jaws without major grafting. Where the bone allows it, six spread the load more widely and shorten the unsupported spans at the back of the bridge. Which applies to you follows from your scan and the examination, not from a price list.
Delivered by: Dentist Saliha Yıldırım
Who it suits
- Patients who have lost every tooth in a jaw, or whose remaining teeth cannot be saved
- People who cannot chew with a removable denture, or cannot tolerate one
- Reduced bone volume at the back of the jaw, where major grafting is best avoided
- Anyone who wants a fixed result rather than something that comes out in the evening
- Patients who can commit to treatment staged across two trips
Who it does not suit
- Active, untreated gum disease
- Advanced bone loss where even angled implants find no stability — those cases need grafting or a different plan
- Heavy smokers unwilling to stop through the surgical phase
- Uncontrolled diabetes or other conditions that impair healing
- Severe bruxism until it is managed, because it loads the bridge in a way it is not built for
How the treatment works
Teeth that cannot be saved are removed and the implants are placed in one surgical session: axial at the front, angled at the back as far as the anatomy requires. Where primary stability allows, a fixed temporary bridge is attached in the same visit, so you are never without teeth. The definitive bridge is made after the implants integrate, usually within three to six months. How many implants go in is settled during planning, not in the chair.
Treatment stages
- 01
Three-dimensional planning
A full-arch case is planned from a 3D scan. Bone volume and density determine the number of implants, their positions and their angles. Whether four is enough comes out of that measurement.
- 02
Extractions and placement
Remaining hopeless teeth are removed and the implants placed in the same session, under local anaesthetic and with sedation where appropriate.
- 03
Fixed temporary bridge
Where the implants achieve enough primary stability, a fixed temporary bridge is attached. You leave the practice with teeth.
- 04
Integration
Three to six months of healing at home, on a soft diet to begin with. The temporary bridge is not built for hard food.
- 05
Definitive bridge
Impressions or a digital scan, a try-in, and fitting of the definitive bridge. The bite is adjusted across several appointments.
Materials and options
How many implants, and where
Most lower jaws are well served by four. In the upper jaw, where bone is softer, or where chewing forces are high, six is the sounder piece of engineering. The reasoning is written into your treatment plan.
Temporary bridge
Reinforced acrylic for the integration period. Functional, and deliberately not built for heavy chewing.
Definitive bridge
Usually monolithic zirconia, or a titanium framework carrying ceramic teeth. The choice follows your chewing forces, the vertical height available and the aesthetic requirement.
Implant system
All four systems are used for full-arch work. On a construction this demanding, a system’s research record and the availability of its components years from now deserve serious weight.
Recovery
The first week is the demanding part: swelling and bruising after extractions and placement, soft or liquid food. Most patients are substantially more comfortable within a week. The soft diet continues for some weeks while the implants integrate.
Aftercare
Under a full-arch bridge has to be cleaned, and a toothbrush alone does not reach it. Interdental brushes and a water flosser are not optional but necessary, and they determine how long the result lasts more than anything else does. The bridge is professionally checked and cleaned at set intervals; screw-retained designs come off for exactly that.
What affects the cost
- How many implants are placed
- Which implant system is used
- Whether extractions are needed, and how many
- Whether one jaw is treated or both
- The material and construction of the definitive bridge
- Whether localised grafting is needed despite angled placement
- Whether sedation is used for the surgical session
Travel considerations
This is a two-trip treatment with a substantial stay each time, and it deserves to be planned properly from the start. You will want somebody with you for the surgical trip: the first two days mean swelling and liquid food, and nobody wants to be navigating an unfamiliar city through that. Both trips, including accommodation with somewhere decent to rest, can be coordinated as one itinerary and are quoted separately from the treatment.
Alternatives
Implant-retained denture
A removable denture on two to four implants. Less expensive and far more stable than a conventional denture — but still removable.
Conventional full denture
The least expensive and least stable option, particularly in the lower jaw.
Individual implants and bridges
Where enough natural teeth remain, replacing teeth one at a time can preserve more than converting the whole jaw.
Grafting with conventional placement
Where angulation is not enough, bone is rebuilt and implants placed in conventional positions. It takes longer, and in some jaws it is the only clean route.
Risks and limitations
- One or more implants failing to integrate, which on a jaw carrying few implants can mean a replacement or a change of plan
- Infection after the surgical session
- Peri-implantitis over time, particularly where cleaning beneath the bridge is neglected
- The temporary bridge fracturing or wearing during integration
- Proximity to the nerve in the lower jaw and to the sinus in the upper
- A few weeks of adjustment in speech to the new arch form
- Mechanical complications: screw loosening, chipping, or fracture of the definitive bridge
Common questions
Do I really get teeth the same day?
Usually a fixed temporary bridge is attached during the surgical trip, provided the implants achieve enough primary stability. Those are genuinely fixed teeth, but they are temporary: the definitive bridge follows after integration. Where stability is insufficient, waiting is the honest route, and that decision is made in the chair.
How many implants do I need?
It depends on your jaw. With the rear pair angled, four implants carry a full arch in many jaws while avoiding major grafting. Where the bone allows it and the bite calls for it — frequently in the upper jaw — six is the sounder construction. The number follows from the state of the bone on your scan, confirmed at the examination, and the reasoning belongs in your plan.
Can it be done in one trip?
Not properly. The implants need months to integrate before the definitive bridge is made. An offer to finish a whole jaw definitively in a single week is biology compressed into a travel itinerary.
How long does the bridge last?
Implants can last decades in healthy, well-maintained mouths. The bridge on top is a wear part and may need repair or replacement over the years. Cleaning underneath it is the variable directly in your hands.
Can I have six implants above and four below?
Yes, and it is a common solution. Upper jaw bone is usually softer and often benefits from the extra support; the denser lower jaw is frequently well served by four.
Will it feel like my own teeth?
Markedly closer than a denture: fixed, and with no palate coverage. It remains a bridge rather than individual teeth, so speech and chewing take a few weeks of adjustment.
What happens if an implant is lost?
A jaw carrying six implants usually carries on working on the remaining five while the site heals and is reassessed. On four, a loss is the bigger problem. That difference in reserve is one of the reasons to place six where the bone allows it.
Start with the assessment.
Send your photographs and a short description of what is bothering you. You will receive a first assessment and, where possible, a written preliminary plan — before any question of travel comes up.
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