Is age a barrier to full-arch implants?
Age on its own is not usually the deciding factor. A systematic review of implant treatment in people aged 65 and over (Srinivasan and colleagues, 2017) calculated that 97.7% of implants were still in place after one year and 91.2% after ten years, and concluded that age alone should not limit implant treatment. The authors add that only two of the 11 included studies were carried out exclusively in people over 65, so the results should be interpreted cautiously.
Full-arch treatment is more involved than a single implant: several implants, often extractions, and a healing phase of some months with temporary teeth. For international patients it usually means two trips several months apart, as described on our full-arch implants page. The 6th Consensus Conference of the International Team for Implantology (ITI) recommends that implants may be considered in older and medically compromised patients when the functional and psychosocial benefits outweigh the risks, cost and burden of treatment. Travelling is part of that burden.
Which health conditions and medicines matter?
The ITI recommends an individual risk assessment for people with other health conditions, including how independent they are in daily life. Common topics in later life:
- Diabetes: according to the ITI, high implant survival rates can be achieved in adults with type 2 diabetes, but oral hygiene should be monitored closely alongside blood sugar control.
- Bone-strengthening medicines: in its 2022 position paper, the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (AAOMS) estimates the risk of medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw at 0.05% or less with oral bisphosphonates, and at 0.04% to 0.3% with denosumab, when used for osteoporosis. For people receiving such medicines by infusion or injection as part of cancer treatment, it advises avoiding implants.
- Blood thinners: full-arch surgery involves several sites, so your dentist needs to know about every anticoagulant or antiplatelet medicine you take.
- Heart disease: according to the ITI, implant survival in people with cardiovascular disease is similar to that in people without it.
- Radiotherapy to the head and neck: the ITI notes that this can reduce implant survival.
- Smoking: it can affect healing, so discuss it before treatment.
- Dry mouth: the US National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) explains that dry mouth is not part of ageing itself; hundreds of medicines can reduce saliva, and taking more than one of them can make it worse.
Do not stop or change any medicine on your own. If an adjustment is needed, your dentist decides together with the doctor who prescribed it.
What should you bring from home?
A complete picture of your health helps the dentist plan. Before you travel, put together:
- a list of all your medicines with doses, including any given by injection or infusion
- letters from your GP or specialists summarising your conditions and current treatment
- recent test results, for example your latest HbA1c if you have diabetes
- any recent dental X-rays or scans, and the denture you wear now
You can send copies on WhatsApp before you book, so that they are part of the preliminary assessment. If a family member helps you with daily care, consider bringing them to the examination. See also our page about planning your visit.
Is there enough bone after years of wearing a denture?
After tooth loss, the jawbone can gradually shrink, and a denture may fit less well. According to Cleveland Clinic, you need enough bone to hold the implants; in many cases, bone grafting can help add volume where bone has been lost. A cone-beam CT (CBCT) scan shows the height and width of the bone and the position of the sinuses and nerves, which helps decide whether four or six implants, additional procedures or a different type of prosthesis suits you.
Fixed bridge or removable implant denture?
A fixed full-arch bridge is attached to the implants; according to Cleveland Clinic, it cannot be removed at home, and your dentist removes it when necessary. A removable implant denture clips onto attachments on the implants, and you take it out yourself.
| Topic | Fixed full-arch bridge | Removable implant denture |
|---|---|---|
| Taking it out | Only by the dentist | By you, every day |
| Daily cleaning | In the mouth, with interdental brushes and floss threaders under the bridge | Out of the mouth; the attachments are brushed separately |
| Ease of cleaning (patients’ rating, ITI) | Rated harder | Rated easier |
| Upper jaw | Palate not covered | With at least four implants, can be designed without covering the palate |
According to the ITI, patient-reported outcomes generally do not differ between the two, except that patients find oral hygiene easier with a removable implant denture. The choice should not rest on this alone but on your anatomy, the clinical findings and your needs.
Müller and Schimmel (2014) recommend at least four implants for a removable implant denture in the upper jaw. In a 2018 review, Müller explains that if someone later struggles to manage a removable implant denture, its retention can be reduced, or the attachments removed so that it becomes a conventional denture; planning should therefore be reversible from the start. This is general information; which option suits you is assessed at the examination.
How will you keep it clean as the years go by?
According to Srinivasan and colleagues, plaque is often poorly removed when vision, sense of touch and manual dexterity decline; they recommend close monitoring of older implant patients and reducing the technical complexity of the prosthesis as function declines. The ITI states that maintenance must be assured by the patient and/or a carer. Müller and Schimmel suggest offering implants at a stage of life when surgery does not yet feel like an insurmountable obstacle, and Müller warns that patients should not disappear from their dentist’s recall system when they move into residential care.
In practice:
- Ask your dentist to show you, in your own mouth, which tools to use under the bridge. Cleveland Clinic recommends a soft-bristled toothbrush and non-abrasive toothpaste, plus floss threaders and interdental brushes.
- If someone helps you at home, learn the routine together.
- Keep to your check-ups. Our guides on caring for teeth on implants and peri-implantitis explain daily care and warning signs.
How do follow-up and check-ups work once you are home?
Most of the healing time, and the years afterwards, are spent at home, so plan follow-up before treatment starts:
- Ask your dentist at home whether they will carry out check-ups and cleaning on an implant bridge made abroad.
- Ask for your written treatment and cost plan before treatment starts, and keep your implant card and the copy of your treatment summary for your home dentist.
- Between the two trips you wear temporary teeth; see our guide to temporary teeth with full-arch implants.
- Before you book your return flight, ask your dentist when it is suitable to fly after your surgery.
See also our page on aftercare and follow-up.
How are full-arch implants planned for older patients at Rönesans?
Suitability is decided at an in-person examination with a cone-beam CT (CBCT) scan at our clinic in Serdivan, Sakarya, taking your bone and general health into account. We provide fixed full-arch bridges on four or six implants; which plan, or another option, suits you is assessed at the examination. Bone grafting, sinus lifts and other oral surgery are carried out at our clinic, and temporary teeth are fitted during the healing period depending on the case. You know from the start which dentist will treat you, and follow-up after treatment follows a defined process.
When you arrive, a driver meets you at the airport and takes you to our partner accommodation in Sapanca, usually a drive of 1.5 to 2 hours; you usually rest that day and have your examination the next. Before you travel, you can send photos and documents on WhatsApp at +90 532 363 49 54 for a preliminary assessment, call +90 264 606 09 43 or use our contact page. During opening hours we reply to messages in English and German within 15 minutes.