Full-Arch Bridge Options

What Are the Final Teeth on a Full Arch Made From?

The final teeth on full-arch implants are a single bridge, screwed onto your implants, and at Comely Bank Dental it's made in one of two ways: a PMMA acrylic bridge, or zirconia teeth carried on a titanium bar. Each is a proven option. Your package sets which one you have: the acrylic bridge comes with the Healed ridge and With extractions packages, and zirconia on titanium comes with the Premium zirconia package. Your bite, whether you grind, how much gum shows when you smile and how much room there is between your jaws all feed into that decision.

Both are fixed. You don't take them out at night. They're held by small screws rather than cement, so if a repair is ever needed we can remove the bridge at the practice and then put it back. Routine cleaning doesn't need that: at your hygiene visits, every three months, the bridge stays where it is.

Before any of this, you need teeth to wear while the implants bond with the bone. Depending on your package, that's the denture you already have, a removable temporary denture, or fixed temporary acrylic teeth on the Premium zirconia package. Fixed temporaries are more than a stopgap: they let us test the shape, length and bite of your new teeth before the final one is made. There's more on that further down.

Acrylic / PMMA: The Lighter, Repairable Choice

What it is. A fixed bridge of acrylic teeth and pink acrylic gum (PMMA is the name of the acrylic), screwed onto your implants. Bridges of this kind have been used on implants for decades, and it's the final bridge on our Healed ridge and With extractions packages.

Where it does well. - It's the lightest of the options, which some people appreciate on an upper arch. - Acrylic has a little give under biting load and is gentle on natural teeth in the opposite jaw. - If a tooth chips or wears, the laboratory can usually replace that tooth or re-tooth the whole bridge, with no new implant work. - It's the bridge included in our two lower-priced packages, from £12,500 per arch.

The trade-offs. - Acrylic wears faster than ceramic. The biting surfaces gradually flatten, and most people need the teeth replaced at some point over the years. How soon varies a great deal with bite and habits. - It picks up stains from tea, coffee, red wine and smoking more readily, and it's more porous than ceramic, so it needs careful cleaning to stay fresh. - It needs more vertical room between the jaws, so it isn't possible for everyone.

Zirconia on a Titanium Bar: The Hard-Wearing Option

What it is. A bar milled from titanium to fit your implants gives the bridge its strength, and zirconia, a very tough tooth-coloured ceramic, forms the teeth that sit on it. It's included in our Premium zirconia package, £18,500 per arch, and it isn't offered as an add-on to our other two packages.

Where it does well. - It's very strong and highly resistant to wear, which makes it a common choice for people who grind or clench. - The glazed surface resists staining and is smooth, so plaque struggles to stick to it. - Modern multilayer zirconia blends colour from the gum line to the biting edge far better than early versions did. - Depending on the design, one damaged tooth can sometimes be renewed without remaking the whole bridge.

The trade-offs. - It's heavier than acrylic. Most people stop noticing within days, but it's worth knowing. - Because it's so hard, it can wear natural teeth biting against it if its surface isn't kept smooth, and it passes more of the biting force to the implants. For anyone who grinds, we usually recommend a night guard to wear in bed. - If the zirconia does fracture, which is uncommon, it usually can't be patched and is remade from the stored digital design. - It costs more, which is why it comes with the Premium zirconia package rather than as standard on every package.

How Do the Materials Compare Side by Side?

A table can't account for your bite or your smile, so treat it as a starting point for the conversation rather than the decision itself.

What Do You Wear While the Implants Heal?

That depends on your package:

• Healed ridge: the denture you already wear, for about three months.
• With extractions: a removable temporary denture, from the day your teeth are taken out.
• Premium zirconia: a fixed temporary bridge in strengthened acrylic, fitted on surgery day where it's clinically suitable.¹

Healing usually takes around three months while the implants fuse with the bone. On the Premium zirconia package, the fixed temporary looks like a full set of teeth, but it's designed to be adjusted, and we use that time to test: - Shape and length of the front teeth, and how they look when you smile and talk - Lip and cheek support, which changes once teeth and bone have been lost - Your bite, so the load is shared evenly across the implants - Speech, particularly 's' and 'f' sounds - Cleaning access, so you can reach under the bridge with a water flosser and brushes

Tell us what you like and what you don't. Once you're happy, we scan the approved temporary with our iTero intraoral scanner and record your bite, and the final bridge is designed from that shape.

The temporary isn't built to last. During healing you'll stick to a softer diet to protect both it and the implants. If it cracks, call us; it can usually be repaired quickly.

How Does the Bridge Affect the Fee?

Full-arch implant treatment at Comely Bank Dental in Edinburgh is priced per arch through three packages, from £12,500. The final bridge comes with your package rather than carrying a price of its own:

• Healed ridge, £12,500: acrylic / PMMA.
• With extractions, £15,000: acrylic / PMMA.
• Premium zirconia, £18,500: zirconia on a custom-milled titanium bar, included.

Zirconia isn't available as an add-on to the first two. A fee is for one arch; upper and lower together are charged as two. We price sedation, sinus work, long-term maintenance and anything beyond routine grafting separately.

It helps to think about cost over the life of the bridge, not just on the day. An acrylic bridge is likely to need new teeth in future, which is a later cost; zirconia costs more at the start but usually needs less work along the way. Neither is automatically better value. It depends on your bite and how long you'd like to go between major repairs.

Every figure is a guide price until we've examined you. Your fee, and exactly what it includes, is confirmed in a written treatment plan before anything starts. Afterwards, routine care such as dental examinations and hygiene visits can be paid for through our dental plan membership.

Which Bridge Material Is Right for You?

There's no single best material, only the one that suits your mouth. As a rough guide:

• You grind, clench or have a powerful bite: zirconia on a titanium bar, with a night guard.
• You show a lot of teeth and gum when you smile: zirconia usually gives the more lifelike finish.
• You'd like the lightest bridge, the simplest repairs or the lowest starting fee: acrylic / PMMA.
• You have natural teeth in the opposite jaw: either can work, and we'll plan the biting surfaces with that in mind.

Zirconia comes only with the Premium zirconia package, so if it's the material that suits you, that's the package we'll plan around.

When a fixed bridge may not be the answer. If you can't clean around a fixed bridge every day, smoke heavily, or have gum disease or diabetes that isn't well controlled, the risk of problems around the implants rises whatever the material. For some people a removable option that clips onto implants is the better fit; our implant-retained dentures page explains that approach.

At a free implant consultation at our practice in Comely Bank, Edinburgh, Dr Kalsi looks at your bite and smile, explains what a 3D scan would show, and talks you through which bridge would suit you. You don't need to decide on the day.

Questions

This guide is general information, not a diagnosis. A dentist needs to examine you to say what is right for your teeth.