Full Arch or Dentures?
Three ways to replace a full set of teeth: a conventional denture, a denture clipped onto implants, and fixed full-arch implants. What each is like to live with, what happens to your jawbone, and what it costs over time.
Are Full-Arch Implants Better Than Dentures?
Full-arch implants are fixed, don't cover the roof of the mouth and help preserve the jawbone, but cost more and need surgery. Dentures cost less and need no surgery, but can move and don't stop bone loss. An implant-retained denture sits in between: it clips onto two or four implants, so it stays put, but still comes out to clean. At St Vincent Smile in Finnieston, Glasgow, an immediate acrylic denture is £495, an implant-retained denture from £8,500 per jaw, and full-arch implants from £9,300 per arch, with a free consultation to tell you which suits you.
The Short Answer
Dentures cost less and don't need surgery. Full-arch implants are fixed in place, feel much closer to natural teeth and help preserve the jawbone, but cost more and involve surgery. There's also a middle option: an implant-retained denture, which clips onto two or four implants, so it stays put but still comes out to clean.
Which is right for you depends on your health, your bone, your budget and what matters most to you day to day. Neither is the right answer for everyone. At your consultation we'll tell you which we'd suggest and why, including when a denture is the sensible choice.
How Each One Works
A full denture rests on your gums. It's held by suction, by the shape of your mouth, and often by adhesive. An upper denture covers the roof of your mouth.
An implant-retained denture is a new denture with clips built in, which snap onto two implants in the lower jaw or four in the upper. It doesn't move or need adhesive, but you take it out to clean it. We always make a new denture for this, so it fits the implants exactly.
A full-arch bridge is a complete set of 10 to 12 teeth screwed to four implants in the jaw, or six where a pathway allows it, with a gum-coloured base that replaces lost gum and bone. It stays in day and night, and only your dentist can remove it. An upper full-arch bridge doesn't cover the roof of your mouth.
Tired of Your Denture?
Book a full-arch consultation, including a CT scan taken here.
Eating and Speaking
Dentures can move when you eat or talk, and many people avoid harder foods such as steak, crusty bread or apples. A full-arch bridge is fixed, so you can bite and chew much more like you did with natural teeth. An implant-retained denture sits between the two: secure, with a little movement, and far fewer sore spots than a loose denture because it isn't rubbing the gums.
With any of them, speech takes a few weeks to settle as your tongue gets used to the new shape. A full-arch bridge leaves the roof of the mouth uncovered, which many people find more natural for speaking and tasting.
Cleaning and Daily Care
A full denture comes out to be cleaned, and most people leave it out at night to rest the gums. An implant-retained denture is cleaned the same way, twice a day, and you also brush around the implants and gums. The small clips inside it wear over time and are replaced at a routine visit.
A full-arch bridge is cleaned in the mouth, like natural teeth: brushing twice a day, and cleaning underneath and around the implants every day with interdental brushes. On top of that, the dental therapist cleans around and under the bridge, with it left in place, at hygiene visits every three months, and the implant guarantee depends on you keeping all four each year. With all three, keeping up hygiene visits and dental examinations is what keeps the gums, and any implants, healthy. Our guide to living with full-arch implants goes into the day-to-day detail.
What Happens to Your Jawbone
After teeth are lost, the bone that held them gradually shrinks. A denture sits on top of the gum and doesn't stop this, which is why dentures loosen over time and need relining or replacing.
Implants sit within the bone and are loaded when you chew, which helps preserve the bone around them. That's one reason a full-arch bridge stays stable for many years, and why an implant-retained denture holds its fit better than a conventional one, though the gum between the implants still changes under a clip-in denture.
Side by Side
| Feature | Full denture | Implant-retained denture | Full-arch implants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fixed or removable | Removable | Removable, clips onto implants | Fixed. Only your dentist removes it |
| Implants | None | 2 lower, 4 upper | 4 per arch; Same-Day and Premium can use 4 to 6 |
| Roof of mouth (upper) | Covered | Depends on the design | Left uncovered |
| Eating | Can move; harder foods often avoided | Secure, with a little movement | Much like natural teeth |
| Effect on jawbone | Bone continues to shrink | Helps preserve bone around the implants | Helps preserve bone around the implants |
| Surgery | None | Yes, sedation if you'd like | Yes, usually under sedation |
| Cleaning | Out of the mouth | Out of the mouth, plus around the implants | In the mouth, plus hygiene visits every three months |
| Upfront cost | Lower: immediate acrylic denture £495 | From £8,500 per jaw | From £9,300 per arch2 |
| Ongoing care | Relines and replacements over the years | Clips replaced at routine visits | Four hygiene visits a year, which the guarantee depends on |
Cost Over Time
Dentures cost least upfront: an immediate acrylic denture, fitted on the day your teeth are removed, is £495, and other denture types are on our fees page. But most need relining and eventually replacing as the jaw changes, typically every five to ten years.
An implant-retained denture is from £8,500 per jaw, plus a CT scan at £160 if you need one. Full-arch implants come in four pathways, priced per arch, running from £9,300 (Healed Foundation, for a jaw that has already healed) through £11,500 (Staged Treatment) and £13,500 (Same-Day Fixed Teeth) to £14,950 (Premium Guided Zirconia). Every one of them includes your CT scan and 3D plan, the written treatment plan, the pathway's own surgery and final bridge, and reviews until you're finished, with a 5-year guarantee for non-smokers who attend hygiene visits every 3 months.2 Extractions, and routine grafting where it's needed, come with the Staged, Same-Day and Premium pathways; more extensive bone augmentation, sinus procedures and sedation are quoted if needed. Afterwards you'll need hygiene visits every three months to keep the guarantee valid, and the bridge itself may need replacing after many years of use. Monthly payments are available, subject to status.
Who Suits Which?
Most adults in reasonable health can be considered for implants. We'll look closely at:
- Your general health, including diabetes, which needs to be well controlled
- Smoking, which slows healing and increases the risk of implant failure
- Your bone, measured on our CT scanner
- Whether you can attend hygiene visits every three months, four a year
A full denture suits you if you'd rather avoid surgery, your budget is limited, or your health makes implants unwise. An implant-retained denture suits you if your denture moves, rubs or needs adhesive, and you want a lower-cost route to implants that you can still take out. Fixed full-arch implants suit you if you want teeth that stay in, several teeth need to come out, or crowns and bridges keep failing. If some of your teeth can be saved, that's usually better. Your consultation and CT scan tell you honestly which will work.
Questions
This guide is general information, not a diagnosis. A dentist needs to examine you to say what is right for your teeth.