Short answer
A full-arch zirconia bridge is a screw-retained fixed prosthesis that replaces a whole arch on implants, milled as one piece of monolithic zirconia. With no veneering porcelain on the teeth, chipping is rare, and published series report survival above 90% at five to six years. Restorative space is the main planning constraint.
What it is
A fixed prosthesis that replaces every tooth in an arch, designed on the implant scan and milled from a single block of zirconia. After sintering, the teeth and gingiva are stained and glazed. There is no metal bar underneath and no layered porcelain on the teeth.
It is screw-retained, usually on multi-unit abutments, so it can come off for maintenance. The formal term is implant-supported fixed complete denture; the Glossary of Prosthodontic Terms lists “hybrid prosthesis” as slang. If the case calls for a metal substructure, see zirconia on a titanium bar.
When to prescribe it
The case for it is the monolithic design. A 2026 meta-analysis in The Journal of Prosthetic Dentistry pooled 13 studies and 2,841 prostheses: 99% were still in function at 12 to 62 months. Technical complications ran 1% to 3% for monolithic designs and up to 27% for veneered ones. The authors rate the certainty of evidence as low, since most of the studies are retrospective.
What to watch is restorative space. In a 2026 Journal of Prosthodontics analysis of 3,300 cases from a single lab, framework fracture was the leading cause of failure, mostly in prostheses with insufficient vertical space. In a separate series of 115 arches, both recorded fractures were at the midline.
When space is tight, or you want something easier to repair chairside, compare it with a titanium bar or PMMA. We walk through that choice in full-arch zirconia, titanium or PMMA.
How we make it
The full-arch zirconia bridge is designed from the approved provisional or a tooth setup and made entirely in our lab in São Paulo, Brazil, from design to glaze. If you want a clinical try-in of the setup before milling, arrange it when the case is opened. Every stage of your case is validated and logged, the bridge goes through eight checks before it ships, and the portal shows each phase and when the case entered it.
What to send
The basics are in our case submission guide and the intraoral scanning guide. For a full-arch case, the record that matters most is the bite at the vertical dimension you chose. If the patient is wearing an approved provisional, scan it in the mouth. It is the best tooth-position reference a lab can get.
Frequently asked questions
Monolithic zirconia or zirconia with layered porcelain?
Monolithic has fewer technical complications. In the 2026 meta-analysis by Matos and colleagues, rates were 1% to 3% for monolithic designs and up to 27% for veneered ones. Keeping porcelain to the gingiva, or staining the gingiva, leaves the teeth monolithic; Bidra's 2017 review pointed the same way, pending long-term data.
How much restorative space does a zirconia full-arch need?
There is no single validated number. Fractures in the literature are linked to insufficient vertical space and thin connectors in the anterior. Send your plan with the available space. If the design shows the zirconia running thin, we'll flag it before milling, and a titanium bar underneath is one of the options.
Can the zirconia bridge go in on surgery day?
With immediate loading, what goes in is usually a fixed interim prosthesis, as the ITI consensus describes. The zirconia comes later, from a scan taken once the tissues are stable and the tooth position has been tested in the provisional.
Can I try in the tooth position before the zirconia is milled?
It's worth doing, because sintered zirconia won't take a major adjustment. The most reliable reference is a provisional the patient already wears and you have approved. A clinical try-in of the tooth setup before milling, to check tooth position, vertical dimension, lip support and phonetics, is something we'll confirm with you when the case is opened.
Sources
- Are monolithic zirconia complete arch implant-supported prostheses reliable? A systematic review and meta-analysis · The Journal of Prosthetic Dentistry (2026)
- Zirconia full-arch implant prostheses: survival, complications, and prosthetic space dimensions with 115 edentulous jaws · Journal of Prosthodontics (2025)
- Five-year survival and failure patterns of complete arch fixed implant-supported monolithic zirconia prostheses: a retrospective analysis of 3300 laboratory cases · Journal of Prosthodontics (2026)
- Clinical outcomes of full arch fixed implant-supported zirconia prostheses: a systematic review · European Journal of Oral Implantology (2017)
- Loading protocols for fixed prostheses in edentulous jaws (consensus statement) · ITI Academy
- The Glossary of Prosthodontic Terms 2023, tenth edition · The Journal of Prosthetic Dentistry (2023)