If you’re missing a full arch of teeth – or heading that way – the decision in front of you is a significant one. Two very different options, a very significant cost gap between them, and a lot of conflicting information online about which is better.
The starting point is this: for most patients, both options are usually available. This isn’t a decision your dentist makes for you based on clinical necessity. It’s a choice – informed by assessment, yes, but ultimately yours. Understanding what each option actually feels like to live with, what happens when something needs fixing and what the numbers look like is how you make it a good one.
If you’re still getting to grips with how implants work and what the different configurations involve, it’s worth reading our guide to the different types of dental implants first.
NB: More detail on full arch implants specifically is on the Smile9 full arch page, and current pricing is on the pricing page.
Do I really have a choice? Or does the dentist decide?
It’s a choice. And it’s worth saying that clearly, because a lot of patients arrive assuming they’ll be told what they’re having.
For most people missing a full arch, both dentures and fixed implants are clinically available. What decides it is a combination of finances, personal preference, and – honestly – whether you’ve had dentures before and got on with them. If you’re already used to dentures and not struggling with them, the question of whether it’s worth going through invasive surgery and spending considerably more money has a very reasonable answer: probably not.
That’s not a cop-out. It’s just a clear way of thinking about it. The rest of this article is about helping you work out which side of that question you’re on.
What conventional dentures are actually like to live with
There’s no version of this that’s completely comfortable to read if you’re currently wearing dentures, so let’s just be straightforward
about it.
A denture is a piece of plastic sitting in your mouth. A well-made one, properly fitted, can work very well but the nature of what it is brings certain trade-offs that don’t go away. It can loosen over time. It can move when you eat. It can rub. A full upper denture typically covers the roof of the mouth, which affects the temperature and texture of food in a way that many wearers find genuinely irritating – hot drinks don’t feel as hot, food doesn’t feel as it should. Food can also get underneath, which is uncomfortable and distracting.
None of this means dentures are a bad option. Plenty of people wear them for decades without significant problems. But going in with a clear-eyed view of what they involve is more useful than finding out later.
Smile9’s dentures page has more detail on what to expect, including the fact that well cared-for dentures typically last five to seven years before needing replacement.
What’s different about full arch implants
The single biggest practical difference is that a fixed full arch stays in your mouth. It’s brushed and cleaned and flossed like natural teeth. It doesn’t come out at night. There’s no reline, no adhesive, no adjustment period when a new set is made.
Because a fixed bridge doesn’t cover the roof of the mouth, the temperature and texture problem largely disappears. That’s not a small thing. Patients who have struggled with full upper dentures often describe getting back the full experience of eating and drinking as one of the most significant changes after treatment.
Both options need maintenance – that’s worth being clear about. Dentures need to come out, be cleaned, and be relined periodically. A fixed full arch needs brushing, cleaning between the bridge and the gum, and regular hygiene appointments. The difference is the nature of the maintenance, not the absence of it.
When something goes wrong
This is the question that doesn’t get asked often enough before a decision is made, and the answer is different enough between the two options that it’s worth its own section.
Dentures are easier and faster to replace when something goes wrong. If a denture breaks or no longer fits well, the process of getting a new one is relatively straightforward and doesn’t involve surgery.
With a fixed full arch, it depends entirely on what’s failed. If it’s the bridge – the part sitting on top of the implants – that’s a manageable fix. The bridge is removed, new impressions are taken, and a replacement is made. More involved than a denture repair, but not a return to theatre.
If it’s an implant itself that has failed, the situation is more complex. That means going back into surgery to remove and replace the post. It’s not common but it’s a real downside of the fixed option and it’s better to know about it before you commit.
The cost gap
Dentures at Smile9 start from £995. A fixed full arch starts at £14,000.
That’s a huge difference and there’s no way to dress it up that makes it less significant. Finance is available on treatments over £1,000, which can change what’s realistically on the table, but the gap is real and it’s the main reason most people are making this decision rather than simply choosing the fixed option.
Both figures are starting points. Every case is quoted individually following a full assessment, and the Smile9 pricing page is where you can find our current prices.
Are dentures just for older people?
Not at all – that’s a cultural assumption rather than a clinical one.
The reason most people picture dentures as something that belongs to an older generation is simply that implants haven’t been widely available for very long. Roughly twenty years, give or take. Anyone who lost teeth before that had one real option: a denture.
Many of those patients are now in their seventies and eighties, have worn dentures for decades, and are perfectly happy with them. The association between dentures and age is about when someone was born, not about how old they are.
More people now choose implants than dentures. But that shift doesn’t make dentures the wrong answer for everyone. If you’ve worn dentures for years, get on with them, and have no interest in going through surgery for something you’re not struggling with – that’s a completely reasonable position and there’s no clinical argument against it.
Are you suitable for full arch implants?
For most patients, yes. Bone health is assessed case by case using a CBCT scan – a 3D X-ray of the jawbone – and medical history is factored in alongside it. The scan is available at Smile9 with a full report for £200.
Age is not a disqualifier. Even in older patients, bone health is usually sufficient. The assessment will identify anything that needs addressing, and in most cases, it can be addressed rather than accepted as a barrier to treatment.
We offer a free initial consultation, which is the right place to start.
The quality-of-life question
There’s a harder conversation sitting underneath all of this and it’s worth having it now.
Patients who can’t get on with dentures sometimes find that the problems compound. Eating becomes uncomfortable and unpredictable, so they start avoiding certain foods. Then they start avoiding meals out. Then they begin declining social plans that happen around food – which, when you think about it, is most of them. The knock-on effect on confidence, on weight, and on connection with other people is real and it’s something that shows up in clinical practice more often than the treatment literature tends to acknowledge.
Fixed full arch implants don’t solve everything. But for patients who have reached the point where a removable option is genuinely affecting their quality of life, they can change things in ways that go well beyond how the teeth look.
That’s not an argument for spending more money than makes sense. It’s more about being honest with yourself about what’s actually going on, and factoring that into the decision.
How to think about this decision
A few questions worth sitting with before your consultation:
Are you prepared to have surgery? If the honest answer is no that resolves things quickly and there’s no shame in it.
If you already wear dentures, are you unhappy with dentures as a concept, or with this particular set? A poorly fitting denture can sometimes be remade or replaced. Implant-retained dentures – which clip onto two implants without going fully fixed – are also a middle-ground option worth knowing about.
Think about food specifically. If temperature, texture and the freedom to eat what you want matter to you, that points towards fixed. If it genuinely hasn’t been an issue, one of the strongest arguments for implants doesn’t apply.
And ask what happens if something breaks – for both options. The answers are different enough that knowing them in advance is worth the thirty seconds it takes to ask.
Get any quote in writing with a full breakdown, ask about finance before ruling the fixed option out on cost, and book a CBCT scan before committing to a final plan.
We’d love to help you figure out the right option for you. Book a free consultation online or call Smile9 on 0114 272 4409.