Key takeaways
- All-on-6 replaces a full arch of teeth with a fixed bridge on six implants rather than four, spreading the load across more supports.
- Research comparing the two found statistically identical five-year survival; six implants are chosen as biomechanical insurance where bone is weaker.
- Whether you need four or six is the surgeon's call from your CT scan, not an upgrade you pick from a menu.
- Provisional teeth are fitted immediately, but the definitive prosthesis arrives around six months later, on a second trip.
- Any figures here are externally sourced context. The real figure for your case is the clinic's written, itemised quote.
- This is general information, not medical advice. Your dentist gives the clinical advice.
If you have been quoted for full-arch treatment abroad, you have probably seen All-on-4 and All-on-6 listed as if they were trim levels on a car. They are not. They are two configurations of the same treatment, and the choice between them is an engineering decision your surgeon makes from a scan of your jaw. This guide explains what All-on-6 is, when the extra implants earn their place, and what the published evidence actually shows. For the wider category, start with our dental treatment abroad guide.
What it is
All-on-6 replaces all the teeth in one jaw with a fixed bridge supported by six dental implants. Like its better-known sibling All-on-4, it is an immediate-function protocol: failing teeth are removed, the implants are placed, and a provisional bridge is fitted quickly, so you leave with teeth rather than a gap.
The difference is purely structural. Four implants can support a full arch by tilting the rear implants into stronger bone. Six implants spread the same chewing load across more supports, shorten the unsupported spans of the bridge, and build in redundancy: if one implant struggles, five remain.
That redundancy is the honest way to understand All-on-6. It is not "more teeth" or a visibly different result; the bridge on top looks the same. It is extra load-bearing capacity, specified when the surgeon judges your bone needs it.
Am I a candidate
The starting point is the same as any full-arch case: most or all of the teeth in an arch are missing or failing, and you want a fixed alternative to dentures. From there, the four-versus-six question is decided by your CT scan, and it mostly turns on bone.
Bone volume and density vary a lot between patients and between jaws. The upper jaw tends to have softer bone, and bone shrinks wherever teeth have been missing for years. Where bone is dense and well distributed, four implants carry a full arch comfortably, and decades of All-on-4 outcomes support that. Where bone quality is weaker, spreading the load across six implants gives the surgeon a wider safety margin.
The comparative evidence is unusually clear here. A 943-patient study comparing full-arch bridges on four versus six implants found statistically identical five-year survival, 98.8% versus 98.7%, with six implants chosen as biomechanical insurance in weaker bone. In other words: neither configuration is superior in general, and the right one is the one that fits your anatomy.
Personal risk factors carry over from implant treatment generally. A meta-analysis of implants in smokers found roughly 2.4 times the odds of failure plus extra bone loss around implants, so expect smoking to feature prominently in your assessment. The final word on candidacy belongs to the clinic's surgeon, after reviewing your scan and medical history.
How it works
All-on-6 follows the same staged protocol as other immediate-function full-arch treatment.
Trip one: assessment, surgery, provisional bridge. The clinic confirms the plan against its own CT imaging, extracts any failing teeth, places the six implants and fits a provisional bridge, usually acrylic, within about a day of surgery. Expect the trip to span a week or so, with a review of the surgical sites and the bridge before you fly.
Months of healing at home. The implants integrate with the bone over the following months while the provisional carries a carefully managed load. Diet instructions matter during this phase; the provisional protects the implants only if you treat it as the temporary structure it is.
Trip two: the definitive prosthesis. In the published protocol, the definitive prosthesis is delivered around six months after surgery, replacing the acrylic provisional with a stronger, precisely balanced bridge. This second trip is the standard plan, not an optional extra, and any quote you compare should say so explicitly.
Before committing, follow the General Dental Council's going-abroad guidance: tell your own dentist what you are considering, and ask the clinic what aftercare is provided, what happens if you are unhappy, and who pays for extra travel or remedial work.
Recovery and aftercare
Surgery for six implants, often with extractions in the same session, is a significant procedure. Plan for swelling, bruising and a soft diet in the first days, and build quiet recovery time into the trip rather than flying home immediately.
The provisional months are supervised, not silent. The clinic owns the aftercare plan: diet progression, hygiene around the bridge, and a review schedule. It remains your first contact for anything unexpected, from a chipped provisional to a change in your bite. Our role at GetClinic is coordination: we keep the follow-up moving with the treating clinic so that being in another country does not mean being out of reach.
That coordination exists because distance demonstrably raises risk. CBS News reporting on medical travel notes patients treated abroad often cannot attend follow-up appointments, which increases complication risk, and a BDA survey reported that most UK dentists had examined patients treated abroad and a large majority had treated complications, with remedial costs commonly reaching four figures. Agree the follow-up arrangements, and the who-pays question, in writing before surgery.
Once the definitive bridge is fitted, you move to lifelong maintenance: daily cleaning under and around the bridge and regular professional reviews at home.
Risks and how clinics manage them
Full-arch implant treatment has strong published survival figures, including the statistically identical five-year outcomes for four and six implants cited above. Strong survival figures are population findings, not personal promises, and the risks deserve plain language.
- Implant loss. A minority of implants fail to integrate or fail later. Six implants exist partly to absorb this risk, but they do not eliminate it, and smoking remains the biggest modifiable factor.
- Peri-implantitis. Infection of the gum and bone around implants affects roughly one in five implant patients across the general implant population. A full-arch bridge makes cleaning harder, not easier, which is why maintenance is part of the treatment, not an afterthought.
- The full-arch endgame. CBS News reporting on the implant industry notes that a failed full arch can leave too little jawbone for a replacement, and the experts it quotes describe full-arch treatment as a last resort. If any of your teeth are savable, ask the surgeon to justify replacing rather than restoring them.
- Over-specification in reverse. Because six implants cost more than four, there is a commercial temptation to present six as the premium choice for everyone. The evidence does not support that, and a surgeon who recommends six should be able to point at the bone on your scan and explain why.
Well-run clinics manage all of this with CT-based planning, a documented four-versus-six rationale, honest patient selection, strict provisional-phase instructions and a scheduled remote review programme. Ask for each of those specifically.
Cost by country
We do not publish internal prices for All-on-6, and any figure quoted before a surgeon has seen your CT scan is a placeholder. The externally sourced context: implant treatment sits outside the NHS charging system and is rarely NHS-funded, making full-arch work private by default in the UK. For scale, NHS charges from April 2026 reach £332.10 for Band 3 treatment such as dentures, crowns and bridges; private full-arch implant treatment costs many multiples of that, which is why the comparison abroad exists at all.
Compare whole protocols, not headline prices: six implants, extractions, the provisional bridge, the definitive prosthesis and its material, plus flights and accommodation for two trips around six months apart. A quote that undercuts the market sharply is often quoting trip one only. Our All-on-6 cost breakdown walks through the full budget line by line.
The real figure for your case is the clinic's written, itemised quote, issued after your scan is reviewed, covering both trips and both bridges, with nothing added without your express agreement.
Choosing a clinic
Verification first: the clinic's licence, the surgeon's registration, and any accreditations it claims. Our verification of clinics is exactly that, an administrative check, and it is not a guarantee of any outcome.
Then put these questions in writing:
- Why six implants for my case rather than four? What on my scan supports that?
- Who performs the surgery, and what is their experience with full-arch cases?
- What is the provisional made of, and what is the plan if it is damaged while I am home?
- When is the definitive prosthesis fitted, what material is used, and are the second trip and the definitive bridge inside this quote?
- The GDC's questions: what aftercare is provided, what happens if I am unhappy, and who pays for additional flights, accommodation or remedial work?
A coordinator prepares your case for the clinic's surgeon, chases these answers and keeps the quote itemised. The clinical judgement, including the four-versus-six decision itself, stays with the surgeon.
FAQ
Is All-on-6 better than All-on-4?
No, and the comparative evidence is direct: a 943-patient study found statistically identical five-year survival between the two. Six implants are the right answer where bone is weaker, four where it is not. The configuration follows the anatomy, and your surgeon reads the anatomy.
When are six implants actually needed?
When the surgeon judges that your bone volume, density or distribution needs the load spread across more supports, typically in softer bone, often in the upper jaw. It is insurance specified from your CT scan, not a routine upgrade.
Do more implants mean the treatment is stronger for everyone?
Not in any way the survival data can detect. In good bone, four implants perform as well as six. In weaker bone, six give the surgeon margin. More implants also mean more surgery, so the decision is a balance, which is exactly why it is clinical rather than commercial.
How many trips will All-on-6 take?
Two as standard: surgery with same-day provisional teeth, then the definitive prosthesis around six months later. Preparatory work can add stages. Treat any single-trip promise of finished full-arch teeth with suspicion.
Can I switch from dentures to All-on-6?
Many full-arch patients come from dentures, but whether your jaw still has the bone for six implants is a scan-level question. If bone has shrunk over years of denture wear, the surgeon may adjust the plan, which is a conversation to have before booking anything.
Is this medical advice?
No. This guide is general information to help you prepare questions. Your dentist gives the clinical advice, and the four-versus-six decision in particular can only be made from your own CT scan.