All-on-4 in Turkey

All-on-4 in Turkey: how it works and what to expect

Losing all your teeth turns every meal into a trial and makes you dodge every photo. If you wear a denture that slips, rubs the gums or stops you biting into an apple, you’ll know exactly what we mean. The All-on-4 technique puts things right: a complete, fixed and permanent bridge, screwed onto just 4 implants. And you fly home from Istanbul with new teeth from day one.

At Body Expert, it all comes as one all-inclusive package: consultation, surgery, bridge, hotel and transfers. Your only job is to enjoy your new smile.

How does All-on-4 work?

We owe the technique to Professor Paulo Maló, who developed it in Lisbon in the 1990s. The idea is clever. Two dental implants go in straight at the front of the jaw, where the bone is naturally thickest. The other two are tilted at 30 to 45° towards the back, which increases contact with the bone you have and steers clear of sensitive areas like the sinuses or the jaw nerve.

That tilt is the whole point: it often avoids a bone graft, even when the bone has already shrunk a little. Thanks to immediate loading, a fixed temporary bridge goes on straight after surgery. In other words, you leave the clinic with teeth that work, the same day.

Then comes osseointegration, the time it takes for bone and implants to fuse into one: reckon on 3 to 6 months. A shorter second stay is then used to fit the permanent zirconia bridge, adjusted to the millimetre for comfort as much as for looks.

All-on-4 or All-on-6: how to choose

It depends on your anatomy, which jaw is involved and what you’re after. The table below sums up the main differences.

In practice, All-on-6 is often kept for cases with enough bone for six anchors, and for patients set on spreading the load further. All-on-4 keeps all its appeal when bone is more limited, because the tilt of the back implants makes the most of what you have. To dig into the question, have a look through our complete All-on-4 guide and our All-on-6 guide.

How much does All-on-4 cost in Turkey?

It’s often the first question, and a fair one. The answer fits in a sentence: in Turkey, an All-on-4 costs far less than in the UK, with up to 70% savings, giving up nothing on the quality of care or the materials. The gap has a simple explanation, lower running costs and a favourable exchange rate, not a compromise on your smile.

Body Expert’s pricing is transparent and all-inclusive: consultation, 3D scan, surgery, premium implants, temporary bridge and follow-up. No hidden fees, no surprise on arrival. For the figures item by item, see our price list and packages, higher up this page.

Claiming on your insurance

Most UK patients pay for treatment abroad privately. Body Expert hands you every document you might need: a detailed quote, invoices, X-rays and an operative report. With that paperwork in hand, you can put in a claim to a private dental insurance policy if yours covers care abroad. It’s worth checking your cover and asking your insurer for a written estimate before you travel.

Your patient journey, step by step

It all starts online. You send your panoramic X-ray (the full X-ray of your jaws) through our form. Within 24h, a dental surgeon studies your case and sees you over video to talk through the treatment plan. You come away with a detailed quote, no strings attached.

Next comes getting the trip ready. Once your flight is booked, your dedicated English-speaking assistant handles the rest: transfers, a 5 star hotel, appointments at the clinic. You’ve nothing else to organise.

Then the day of the procedure in Istanbul. A full work-up is carried out (panoramic X-ray, 3D scan, clinical exam), then the 4 implants are placed under local anaesthetic, or light sedation if you’d rather, in 1 to 2 hours. Thanks to immediate loading, your fixed temporary bridge goes on the same day.

Now healing takes over. Over the 3 to 6 months of osseointegration, your temporary teeth let you eat and smile as normal, and your surgeon keeps up regular check-ins from a distance.

That leaves the permanent bridge. A second stay of 3 to 5 days is used to fit the permanent zirconia bridge, made to measure by computer. A few adjustments, and the result is there.

Advanced technology and materials

Our partner clinics in Istanbul work with the most advanced tools going: a 3D scanner (CBCT) to plan the surgery to the millimetre, computer-guided surgery to put each implant exactly where it should be, and digital fabrication of the bridge (CAD/CAM) made to measure.

On the implants, we only place premium: Straumann (Switzerland), Nobel Biocare (Sweden) and MegaGen (South Korea). The clinical data is solid. In the systematic review by Patzelt and colleagues (2014), implant survival sits near 99% at 3 years. And with the benefit of hindsight, Maló’s study (2019), followed for up to 18 years, reports implant success close to 92%, with the bridge still in place in more than 99% of cases. The permanent bridges, in monolithic zirconia, pair strength with a natural look.

Risks and things to watch

Like any surgery, placing an All-on-4 carries risks, rare in experienced hands: an infection (under 2%), nerve involvement that’s usually temporary, or a failure of osseointegration (1 to 3%). Smoking, poorly controlled diabetes and severe bruxism (teeth grinding) are the main contraindications to keep an eye on.

Reassuring on the method itself: the tilted implants at the back hold just as well as straight ones, with comparable bone loss at 5 years (Hopp and colleagues, 2017). Our surgeons carry out a full work-up before every procedure. To get your head around the whole subject, see our guide to dental implants.

Why choose Body Expert for your All-on-4?

With more than 50000 procedures behind us, Body Expert is a trusted English-speaking name in dental tourism in Turkey. Our patients are looked after from start to finish, from the first consultation to the follow-up once they’re back home.

Still weighing up All-on-4 against All-on-6? Ask for your free quote online: you get a personalised answer within 24h. Our surgeons point you towards the right solution for your full arch.

Still weighing up All-on-4 against All-on-6? Ask for your free quote online: you get a personalised answer within 24h. Our surgeons point you towards the right solution for your full arch.

In summary

All-on-4 gives you back a complete, fixed and permanent jaw on just 4 implants. Two straight implants at the front, two tilted at the back: this layout, developed by Professor Paulo Maló, makes the most of the bone that’s there and very often avoids a bone graft. Thanks to immediate loading, you leave the clinic with fixed temporary teeth the same day, before the permanent zirconia bridge is fitted after a few months of healing.

Next to All-on-6 and its 6 anchor points, All-on-4 stands out for a fine balance of strength, simplicity and cost. The right choice comes down to your bone density, the jaw to be restored and what you’re expecting: that’s the whole purpose of the work-up beforehand, 3D scan in hand. The clinical data is reassuring, with implant survival around 99% at 3 years and several years of hindsight on how well the tilted implants hold up.

If so many patients choose Turkey for their All-on-4, the reasons are simple: specialist surgeons who operate every day, Istanbul clinics kitted out like the best of them, English-speaking support from end to end, and up to 70% savings compared with the UK. Want to know whether All-on-4 is right for you? Send your panoramic X-ray to our coordinators and get your free quote within 24h, with no obligation.

Scientific references

Maló, P., de Araújo Nobre, M., Lopes, A., Ferro, A., & Botto, J. (2019). The All-on-4 treatment concept for the rehabilitation of the completely edentulous mandible: A longitudinal study with 10 to 18 years of follow-up. Clinical Implant Dentistry and Related Research, 21(4), 565-577. https://doi.org/10.1111/cid.12769

Patzelt, S. B. M., Bahat, O., Reynolds, M. A., & Strub, J. R. (2014). The All-on-Four treatment concept: A systematic review. Clinical Implant Dentistry and Related Research, 16(6), 836-855. https://doi.org/10.1111/cid.12068

Soto-Peñaloza, D., Zaragozí-Alonso, R., Peñarrocha-Diago, M., & Peñarrocha-Diago, M. (2017). The all-on-four treatment concept: Systematic review. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Dentistry, 9(3), e474-e488. https://doi.org/10.4317/jced.53613

Hopp, M., de Araújo Nobre, M., & Maló, P. (2017). Comparison of marginal bone loss and implant success between axial and tilted implants in maxillary All-on-4 treatment concept rehabilitations after 5 years of follow-up. Clinical Implant Dentistry and Related Research, 19(5), 849-859. https://doi.org/10.1111/cid.12526