All-on-6
Also known as: All-on-six, All on 6, Six-implant full-arch protocol
A descriptive term for a full-arch fixed prosthesis carried by six implants rather than four.
Research in progress. Some fields on this entry are not yet verified against a primary source, so we have left them blank rather than filling them in — and this page is not published to search engines until they are.
Key facts
| Trademark status | No equivalent "All-on-6" mark appears in Nobel Biocare’s published list of its trademarks, which does include the All-on-4 treatment conceptVerified spec[1]Absence from one manufacturer’s trademark page is not a trademark search; it establishes only that this manufacturer does not list the term |
|---|---|
| Number of implants | Six implants falls within the range of 2 to 10 in the mandible and 4 to 12 in the maxilla reported across studies reviewed by the ITI consensus on loading protocols for fixed prostheses in edentulous jawsVerified spec[2] |
| Clinical evidence | Insufficient evidence(We have not located a systematic review directly comparing four-implant with six-implant full-arch protocols that we are able to cite here; finite element and single-trial comparisons exist but do not support a general clinical claim) |
| How it differs | Unlike All-on-4, the term is descriptive rather than proprietary: it simply counts the implants. It does not specify whether the posterior implants are tilted, whether loading is immediate, or what the prosthesis is made from. |
| Limitations | More implants are not automatically better. Additional implants add surgical sites, cost and cleaning access problems, and the case for them rests on load distribution and on having enough bone to place them — not on a demonstrated survival advantage. |
Overview
All-on-6 describes a full-arch fixed bridge carried by six implants instead of four. Unlike All-on-4, the term is not a trademark and carries no defined protocol: it counts implants and says nothing about whether they are tilted, when the bridge is loaded, or what it is made of. It may be considered where there is enough bone to place six implants and where the clinician judges that spreading the load further is worthwhile, but the evidence for a clinical advantage over four implants is not strong — comparisons are dominated by laboratory modelling and single trials rather than by systematic review. Two implants more also means two more surgical sites, more cost and more surface to clean around. The sensible way to read a six-implant proposal is as one plan among several, justified by the anatomy in front of the clinician rather than by the number itself.
This is general information. Whether any treatment suits you depends on clinical examination, including imaging — no website can determine that.
Sources
Numbers match the citations beside each claim above.
Primary sources
- [1]Trademarks — Nobel Biocare — Nobel Biocare Services AG. Accessed 2026-07-21.
Clinical evidence
- [2]Loading Protocols for Fixed Prostheses in Edentulous Jaws — ITI Consensus Statement — International Team for Implantology (ITI), 2013. Accessed 2026-07-21.