All-on-6 in Turkey

Understanding All-on-6 in Turkey with Body Expert

Losing all your teeth, or nearly all of them, changes your life. Eating hurts, talking gets awkward, smiling becomes an effort. Removable dentures slip, rub and often end up at the back of a drawer. The All-on-6 technique breaks that cycle: a full set of teeth, fixed and permanent, anchored on 6 implants placed at the strategic points of your jaw. The result: stability and durability that All-on-4 can’t always match.

At Body Expert, we guide you through this change with an all-inclusive stay in Istanbul: consultation, surgery, bridge, hotel and transfers. Your only job? Enjoy your new smile.

So what exactly is All-on-6?

All-on-6 grew out of the All-on-4 protocol, developed by Dr Paulo Maló in Lisbon in the 1990s. Before that, restoring a full jaw often called for 8 to 10 implants. The All-on concept changed things: fewer implants, a simpler fitting, and stability that’s at least as good. It has since been the subject of many clinical reviews (Soto-Peñaloza et al., 2017).

In practice, All-on-6 rests on 6 implants to carry a fixed bridge across a whole arch: four axial implants at the front, where the bone is densest, and two tilted implants at the back (often at 30 to 45°), so chewing forces spread across six anchors.

The technique suits the upper jaw (the maxilla) especially well, as it’s naturally less dense than the lower jaw. With 6 anchor points, each dental implant takes less strain, which extends its lifespan and lowers the risk of failure.

As with All-on-4, immediate loading lets you leave with a fixed temporary bridge on the day of surgery. After 3 to 6 months of osseointegration (the time the bone needs to fuse with the implants), the permanent zirconia bridge finishes the job.

All-on-6 or All-on-4: the comparison that helps you decide

This is the question most of our patients ask. Here are the real differences, without the jargon:

Our take: for the upper jaw and for anyone after maximum lifespan, All-on-6 is the safe bet. For the lower jaw with good bone and a tighter budget, All-on-4 is still an excellent option. Plenty of patients actually choose All-on-6 on top and All-on-4 below, to balance comfort and budget. Our detailed guides help you see clearly: All-on-4 guide and All-on-6 guide.

All-on-6, bridges and dentures: why the implant changes everything

Set against the older options, All-on-6 pulls ahead.

Against conventional bridges. A bridge means grinding down the healthy neighbouring teeth to turn them into supports, so it sacrifices tooth tissue you never get back. All-on-6 stands on its own: each implant carries the bridge directly, without touching the teeth you have left. And where a bridge can’t cope with a fully toothless jaw, All-on-6 takes over.

Against removable dentures. A denture slips, rubs the gums, limits chewing and speeds up bone loss because it doesn’t stimulate the bone. All-on-6 sweeps those faults away: a perfect hold, effective chewing, natural speech and bone that’s preserved. Our guide to full-arch restoration runs through every option.

How much does All-on-6 cost? The budget in brief

Let’s talk money, honestly. In the UK, a full fixed bridge on implants quickly becomes a heavy investment, hard for many families to take on. In Istanbul, Body Expert offers the same level of materials and expertise with up to 70% savings, without the slightest compromise on quality.

The all-inclusive price covers the whole journey: consultation and pre-op checks, the CBCT 3D scan, blood tests, the surgery, the 6 premium implants, the fixed temporary bridge, the medication and the follow-up. No hidden extras: the price you’re quoted is the final price. The package details, for one jaw or both, with or without a bone graft, are set out in the pricing section of this page.

Claiming on your insurance

For treatment carried out in Turkey, don’t expect the NHS to fund it. That said, some private dental insurance policies include implant or prosthetic allowances that may cover part of the cost, depending on your cover. The smart move: ask your provider for a pre-treatment estimate before you travel. Body Expert gives you all the paperwork you need (an itemised quote, invoices, 3D imaging, the surgical report, a certificate confirming the materials) to put your claim together.

Your patient journey, step by step

Step 1: the free online consultation. You send us your dental panoramic X-ray (the full scan of your jaws) through a secure form. Within 24 hours, a dental surgeon looks at your case and meets you over video. They assess your situation, compare the All-on-4 and All-on-6 options, and give you a detailed quote, no obligation.

Step 2: the pre-op checks. When you arrive in Istanbul, we run a full work-up: a high-resolution CBCT 3D scan, blood tests, a thorough clinical exam. These checks confirm the treatment plan and fine-tune the position of each implant through 3D planning.

Step 3: the surgery. The 6 implants are fitted under local anaesthetic (or light sedation if you prefer) and it usually takes 90 minutes to two and a half hours. Computer-guided surgery makes placement accurate to the millimetre. Thanks to immediate loading, a fixed temporary bridge goes in the same day: you leave the clinic with teeth.

Step 4: recovery. For the first few days, a little swelling, some tenderness and sometimes a bit of bruising, which fade within 3 to 7 days. You’re prescribed painkillers and antibiotics, and we recommend soft food for a fortnight. Most of our patients are back to their usual activities within 48 to 72 hours.

Step 5: healing. Then comes osseointegration, over 3 to 6 months: the implants slowly fuse with the bone. Your temporary teeth let you eat and smile as normal. Your surgeon keeps up regular remote follow-up and stays reachable.

Step 6: the permanent bridge. A second stay of 3 to 5 days lets us fit your permanent bridge in monolithic zirconia, made to measure with CAD/CAM (computer-aided design and manufacturing). A few fine adjustments, and you go home with your final smile.

Leading technology and materials

Our partner clinics in Istanbul are fitted with the best implantology has to offer.

The CBCT 3D scanner gives a three-dimensional picture of your jaw: planning to the millimetre and precise spotting of sensitive areas like nerves and sinuses. Computer-guided surgery uses a 3D-printed guide, made from your scan, to place each implant exactly where it belongs. CAD/CAM technology lets us design and mill made-to-measure bridges of remarkable accuracy, right in the clinic’s own laboratory.

The implants come from the leading manufacturers: Straumann (Switzerland), Nobel Biocare (Sweden, a pioneer of modern implantology) and MegaGen (South Korea). The permanent bridges are made from monolithic zirconia, a material that combines exceptional mechanical strength, excellent tolerance by the body and a translucency close to natural enamel.

Are you eligible? Criteria and contraindications

To consider All-on-6, a few things matter: good general health, enough bone volume and quality (assessed on the 3D scan), no untreated active gum disease, well-controlled diabetes where relevant, and ideally not smoking, or agreeing to stop for at least four weeks before and after surgery.

Absolute contraindications are rare: severe immunodeficiency, intravenous bisphosphonate treatment, recent radiotherapy to the jaw. Relative contraindications like smoking, diabetes or osteoporosis are handled case by case with our surgeons.

And if you’ve already been turned down for implants because of a lack of bone? Solutions exist: a bone graft, a sinus lift (raising the floor of the sinus) or, in complex cases, zygomatic implants anchored in the cheekbone. Every situation is assessed individually.

Risks and how we limit them

In experienced hands, complications are rare: infection at the surgical site (under 2% of cases), nerve involvement that’s usually temporary, or failure of osseointegration (1 to 3% according to international studies). Sticking to strict hygiene protocols and using premium implants lowers these risks further.

Our surgeons carry out a full assessment before every procedure to spot and limit the risk factors. Our full guide to dental implants covers all of this, risks and prevention included.

Care and follow-up over time

How long your All-on-6 lasts depends first on your hygiene and your follow-up. Our advice: careful brushing 2 to 3 times a day with a suitable brush, an oral irrigator (water flosser) every day to clean under the bridge, a check-up with your dentist every 6 months, and a regular professional scale and polish.

Body Expert keeps up remote follow-up for the 12 months after your procedure, and stays available beyond that for any question.

Why choose Body Expert for your All-on-6?

With more than 50000 patients supported, Body Expert is a leading name in dental tourism in Turkey for English-speaking patients. Support from start to finish, from the first online consultation to follow-up once you’re home, with a dedicated English-speaking assistant, available 7 days a week during your stay.

Turkey has become a go-to destination for implantology for a simple reason: recognised medical expertise, equipment identical to that of the best European clinics, and up to 70% savings compared with the UK, with no compromise on quality.

The bottom line

All-on-6 in Turkey is a full, fixed jaw of teeth carried by 6 implants, made for people who’ve lost all their teeth or whose denture no longer holds. Its strengths: a fixed bridge fitted the same day thanks to immediate loading, a better spread of forces than with 4 implants, and a longer lifespan, especially in the upper jaw where the bone is more fragile. Long-term follow-up of full-arch restorations on four implants reports high implant survival (Agliardi et al., 2023; Maló et al., 2011), and a randomised trial comparing four and six maxillary implants found no significant difference in survival at five years (Tallarico et al., 2016).

Next to a bridge or a denture, the implant preserves the bone, avoids touching healthy teeth and hands back real day-to-day freedom: eating, talking, smiling without a second thought. That leaves the question of budget. In the UK, a full restoration on implants is a heavy investment. In Istanbul, Body Expert offers the same materials, Straumann, Nobel Biocare or MegaGen implants and a zirconia bridge, with up to 70% savings and English-speaking support from the first message to the moment you’re back home. The package details are set out in the pricing section of this page.

The smart first step before you commit: a personalised assessment. Every mouth is different, and only an examination (a panoramic X-ray, a 3D scan) will say whether All-on-6 is right for you or whether another technique would suit you better. Our surgeons point you towards the solution that fits your case, never the most expensive one. Want to see clearly where you stand? Ask for your free quote within 24 hours, with no obligation.

Sources

Agliardi, E. L., Pozzi, A., Romeo, D., & Del Fabbro, M. (2023). Clinical outcomes of full-arch immediate fixed prostheses supported by two axial and two tilted implants: A retrospective cohort study with 12-15 years of follow-up. Clinical Oral Implants Research, 34(4), 351-366. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36760035/

Tallarico, M., Meloni, S. M., Canullo, L., Caneva, M., & Polizzi, G. (2016). Five-year results of a randomized controlled trial comparing patients rehabilitated with immediately loaded maxillary cross-arch fixed dental prosthesis supported by four or six implants placed using guided surgery. Clinical Implant Dentistry and Related Research, 18(5), 965-972. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26446912/

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://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28298995/

Maló, P., de Araújo Nobre, M., Lopes, A., Moss, S. M., & Molina, G. J. (2011). A longitudinal study of the survival of All-on-4 implants in the mandible with up to 10 years of follow-up. The Journal of the American Dental Association, 142(3), 310-320. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21357865/