Full Jaw (Full Arch) Dental Implants


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Unfortunately sometimes due to illness or accidents, all teeth on a jaw are missing or need replacing. This condition is known as being ‘edentulous’ and can be fixed by a variety of dental procedures. The most common and viable options are:

  • Implant overdenture
  • Mini implant overdenture
  • Fixed restoration
  • Crown + bridge restoration

All of the restorations including dentures which are currently manufactured in the UK are extremely versatile and resilient hence look strikingly natural and are also nowhere as difficult to care for as the previous ones.


Nevertheless, each procedure has its advantages and drawbacks which will be explained in the following section

Types of full jaw dental implants

An implant overdenture is one of the less expensive options and it is also relatively easy to keep clean and look after. It is designed to fit over your roots and implants already in place and to fit will with your gum tissue. This means that your denture can be kept very firmly in place without the inconvenient problems of awkward glue, loss of tissue, and slipping. The denture can therefore be attached through a golden bar which connects both the implants and the denture, or through several individual connectors fixing the implants and denture. There are several kinds of overdentures you may choose from, and also different bar systems and attachments. Your specific requirements should be discussed with your dentist, and the most appropriate solution will be suggested; both for your teeth and for your pocket.

Similarly, mini implant overdentures work almost exactly like a regular implant overdenture described above, with the only difference that mini implants are used instead of full-sized ones. The reason for this is that it can be much more affordable, or can be used as a temporary measure simply to keep the denture locked. Mini implants are less intrusive and expensive, although through the years they have been considered mostly as temporary measures for fixing dentures.

On the other hand, a fixed restoration is a restoration which is held in place by a series of screws. This renders it fixed, hence can only be removed by your dentist. It is a good option for who dislikes the idea of a removable denture. Nevertheless, it is more difficult to keep clean than detachable restorations and requires more care to last longer.

Finally, the crown and bridge restoration system offers much more realistic and natural looking teeth, albeit it is considerably more expensive and difficult to clean. Effectively, the crowns (artificial teeth) are then fixed to the bridges (thin metal bars) in a permanent manner. The procedure is very similar to the traditional implants one, with the placing of the implants in the first stage, and the fixing of the abutments and crowns in the second stage. In addition however, highly detailed casts are required in order to fit all the crowns properly. These casts will be produced by your dentist with the cost included in your treatment accordingly. 

Cost of a full jaw dental implant

Full jaw dental implants are amongst the most expensive procedures in dentistry. It is for this very reason that countless dental practices have been based abroad offering a putative cheaper service creating a “dental tourism” phenomenon. Although the perspective of saving considerable amounts of money is naturally inviting, it is important to check the credentials, skills and experience of every dentist, both in the UK and abroad. Said this, prices in the UK vary mostly on these grounds:

  • Where the dental practice is located (areas with high living costs and rents will be more expensive)
  • The material of the implants, crowns, bridges or dentures (ie. Whether acrylic or ceramic is used)
  • The experience and reputation of the surgeon (more experience usually entails higher costs)
  • Which kind of implant is being used
  • Which locking system is opted for

Given these factors, the price for full mouth implants would range between £12,000 up to £20,000 per jaw.

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