Choosing Your Full-Arch Bridge
The implants form the foundation; the bridge is the part you see and eat with. A comparison of our two permanent bridges, which pathway each belongs to, and how our implant dentist guides you towards the right one.
What's the Best Material for a Full-Arch Implant Bridge?
Neither material wins outright; the right one depends on your bite, your budget and the pathway your mouth needs. At our Broughty Ferry practice the permanent bridge comes in two forms. Acrylic / PMMA is the standard bridge on our first three pathways, from £9,300 an arch: the lightest, least expensive and simplest to repair. Zirconia teeth fixed to a titanium bar milled to fit are very durable, immune to staining and the most natural-looking; they come as standard on pathway 04, Premium Guided Zirconia, at £14,950 an arch, and as an optional upgrade on pathway 01, Healed Foundation, for £2,500 more an arch. Underneath either one sit the same MegaGen AnyRidge implants.
What Both Bridges Share
Whichever bridge you end up with, the groundwork is planned the same way: a CBCT scan, digital records and a 3D plan for every MegaGen AnyRidge implant. The surgery around it depends on your pathway. Acrylic / PMMA is the standard permanent bridge on pathways 01, 02 and 03, while zirconia on a titanium bar comes with pathway 04, Premium Guided Zirconia, which also brings more detailed digital planning of the surgery and a custom-made surgical guide. On pathway 01, Healed Foundation, you can choose the zirconia bar in place of acrylic as an optional upgrade costing £2,500 an arch. Either way, the permanent bridge is only made after healing, from a digital scan of your mouth.
Nor is the decision permanent: over their lifetime the same implants can carry more than one bridge.
Acrylic / PMMA: Light and Simple to Repair
Denture-style teeth in acrylic / PMMA (a dense, high-grade acrylic) sit in a base of pink acrylic gum, with a reinforcing metal frame running through the centre to keep it rigid. Of the two it is the lighter, and a chipped tooth can generally be repaired while you sit in the chair.
Wear is the compromise. Being softer than enamel, acrylic gradually loses its biting edges, and tea or red wine will discolour it, so most acrylic bridges need their teeth replaced at some stage. It is the standard permanent bridge on three of our four pathways, so its fee depends on the route your treatment takes: £9,300 an arch on Healed Foundation, £11,500 on Staged Treatment and £13,500 on Same-Day Fixed Teeth.
Handle the Samples Before Deciding
Our implant dentist can show you both bridge types at a free consultation in Broughty Ferry.
Zirconia Teeth: Hard-Wearing and Stain-Proof
Zirconia is a ceramic so strong that it is used in hip replacements. On our premium bridge the teeth are milled from it before being tinted and glazed, which gives them a touch of translucency while the gum portion reads as pink. Coffee makes no impression on it, and it hardly wears at all.
It is heavier than acrylic and extremely stiff. In the unusual event of a fracture, repair means a trip back to the laboratory rather than a fix in the chair. You may see bridges milled entirely from zirconia offered elsewhere; here, zirconia comes as the teeth on a titanium bar, either included in pathway 04 or as an optional £2,500 upgrade on Healed Foundation; it isn't sold as a package of its own.
Titanium Bar: Strength at the Core
For this option a titanium framework is precision-milled to fit your implants without any stress, and zirconia teeth are then bonded to it. The metal core is what gives the bridge its strength, an advantage on long spans and for anyone with a heavy bite. The zirconia layered on top delivers the more lifelike finish of the two.
Should one section get damaged, replacing just that part is often possible rather than remaking the whole bridge. It is the standard finish on pathway 04, Premium Guided Zirconia, at £14,950 an arch, and the upgrade offered on Healed Foundation for £2,500 an arch. The Premium fee also takes in the same-day route, with fixed temporary teeth at surgery where clinically suitable, 2 plus advanced digital planning of the surgery and a custom MegaGen R2 surgical guide.
Side by Side
| Feature | Acrylic / PMMA | Zirconia on a titanium bar |
|---|---|---|
| Comes with | Healed Foundation (01), Staged Treatment (02), Same-Day Fixed Teeth (03) | Premium Guided Zirconia (04) as standard; Healed Foundation (01) as an optional £2,500 upgrade |
| Cost, each arch | £9,300, £11,500 or £13,500, by pathway | £14,950 on 04; on 01, the 01 fee plus £2,500 |
| With time | Biting edges flatten | Barely changes |
| Tea, coffee, red wine | Can stain | Stain-resistant |
| A chipped tooth | Usually repaired on the day | Section can often be replaced |
| Typically chosen by | First bridges, tighter budgets | Strong biters, long spans, minimal upkeep |
Both are held in with screws.
Reaching a Decision
Before suggesting one, our implant dentist will want to know about:
- The opposing teeth. Natural teeth, a denture and another implant bridge each put a different load on the bridge.
- Grinding or clenching. A powerful bite punishes acrylic and shifts the balance in favour of the bar. Whichever you choose, a night guard protects it.
- Cost today and tomorrow. Acrylic is cheaper up front; zirconia tends to cost less in upkeep over the years.
- Appearance. Where a natural look is the priority, zirconia comes out ahead.
- Your pathway. Zirconia on a titanium bar comes with pathway 04, which is built on the same-day route, so whether that route suits your mouth matters too. If your arch has already healed, Healed Foundation can take the zirconia bar as an optional upgrade instead, for £2,500 more.
Your pathway, its bridge and its fee are all recorded in your written plan before any treatment starts. 1
Caring for Whichever You Choose
Run a water flosser under the bridge every day, see the hygienist every three months, and if you grind, wear a night guard. The detail is in our guide to living day to day with a full arch, while the All-on-4 explainer describes the implants underneath.
Questions
This guide is general information, not a diagnosis. A dentist needs to examine you to say what is right for your teeth.