All-on-4 dental implants explained

Losing most or all of the teeth in one jaw affects eating, speech and confidence, and full-arch implants are one of the options people hear about. This guide explains what All-on-4 means, how it differs from All-on-6, who a dentist may consider suitable and what to ask about cost. It is general information and does not replace an examination.

What All-on-4 is

All-on-4 is the name given to a full-arch approach. A set of replacement teeth for one jaw is fixed onto four dental implants. The name is a technique label used by dental practices. None of the NHS or charity pages opened for this guide uses it, so the description here relies on how those sources describe implants in general.

The NHS website for England describes implants as a fixed alternative to removable dentures. A titanium screw is placed into the jaw bone to support a crown, bridge or denture. Leeds Teaching Hospitals describes the full-arch idea in similar terms: several missing teeth can be replaced with fixed bridgework supported by implants, or with a removable overdenture that clips onto implants for stability.

The Oral Health Foundation says implants can support a single crown, a bridge or a denture. All-on-4 sits in the fixed bridge category, because the teeth are attached to the implants rather than taken out each night.

All-on-4 vs All-on-6

All-on-6 follows the same idea with six implants in the jaw instead of four. The number in the name is the number of implants planned for that arch.

The sources opened for this guide do not compare the two, so this guide does not claim that one lasts longer or works better. The number of implants a dentist plans depends on the bone available, where the implants can be placed and the type of teeth being fixed to them. Ask the practice to explain, for your own mouth, why it proposes four, six or another number, and what the alternatives are.

Question	All-on-4	All-on-6
Implants per jaw	Four	Six
Teeth attached to the implants	Fixed set	Fixed set
Which one is right for you	Decided after examination	Decided after examination

Who is suitable

A dentist decides suitability after an examination. The Oral Health Foundation says your dentist will check the health and strength of your jawbone, and that not everyone qualifies.

Leeds Teaching Hospitals lists factors that raise the risk of implant problems: smoking, poor oral hygiene, previous gum disease, radiotherapy to the jaw, uncontrolled diabetes and bisphosphonate medicines. It also says assessment considers your overall health and your commitment to long-term oral care, and that treatment involves several appointments and at least one surgical procedure.

Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust says there is a small risk that implants do not join properly with the bone, and that the risk is higher for smokers. The trust also says parts of an implant can loosen or wear out with time. People who already have gum disease should raise it at the first appointment, because it is on the Leeds list of risk factors.

Timing is another question for the dentist. According to Guy’s and St Thomas’, checked 6 October 2026, a standard implant course could take 6 to 12 months in total. The Oral Health Foundation says the usual healing period after placement is about four months, and that in some cases the replacement tooth can be placed on the same day. Same-day teeth are therefore an option for some people, not a promise for everyone.

Aftercare matters for years afterwards. The Oral Health Foundation says implants do not come with a lifetime promise, and that plaque build-up around an implant can cause peri-implantitis, which can lead to implant failure. It recommends brushing twice daily with fluoride toothpaste and cleaning around the implant every day with interdental brushes.

Cost: what Belfast practices publish

This guide does not give a price for All-on-4 or All-on-6, because no official source opened for it states one for Northern Ireland. Prices vary between practices and between patients, so any figure here would be a guess.

The NHS website for England says implants are usually only available privately and are expensive. Whether Health and Social Care in Northern Ireland funds any implant treatment is not covered by the pages opened here, so ask a dentist or check the official pages.

The General Dental Council says patients should know the likely cost of treatment and can ask to see a price list if one is not on display. It also says you can ask for a written treatment plan. For a full-arch quote, ask what the price includes: scans, extractions, bone grafting if needed, temporary teeth, the final teeth, follow-up visits and repairs. Ask every practice the same questions so the quotes can be compared fairly.

Ask which other options the dentist considered. The General Dental Council says patients should be told whether other treatment options exist. Dentures and bridges are among the alternatives worth discussing.

Belfast practices that list full-arch implants

Next step: read what a practice says about full-arch treatment on its own website, then check the dentist on the General Dental Council register. To see practices that list implant work in Belfast, start from the dental implants hub. The guide to choosing a dentist suggests how to approach a first consultation, and the register-checking guide shows the steps. Listings show what a practice says about itself and are not a recommendation.