Multiple-implant bridge
Also known as: Implant-supported bridge, Implant fixed dental prosthesis, Implant FDP
A fixed bridge carried by two or more implants, replacing several adjacent missing teeth without placing one implant per tooth.
Key facts
| Clinical evidence | A systematic review of studies with a mean observation period of at least five years reported implant survival of 95.6% at five years and 93.1% at ten years, with survival of the fixed dental prostheses themselves of 95.4% at five years and 80.1% at ten yearsClinical evidence |
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| Limitations | In the same review about 33.6% of patients experienced a complication within five years; the most frequent were fracture of the veneering material (13.5%), peri-implantitis and soft tissue complications (8.5%), abutment or screw loosening (5.3%) and loss of retention of cemented prostheses (4.7%)Clinical evidence |
| Main stages | Planning of implant number and position against the intended bridge design; placement; healing; recording of implant positions; try-in and fitting of the bridge. Because the bridge splints the implants together, their relative position and angulation are planned from the restoration backwards rather than site by site. |
| How it differs | Fewer implants than teeth are used, so a three-tooth gap is commonly restored on two implants with a suspended middle unit. That reduces surgery and cost, but concentrates load on the implants that are present. |
| Prosthetic ecosystem | Bridges may be screw-retained or cemented. Screw retention allows the bridge to be removed for maintenance; cement retention can be easier to make passive but risks retained cement around the implant if margins are deep. |
Overview
Where several teeth in a row are missing, a bridge carried on two or more implants can replace them without needing one implant per tooth — a three-unit span on two implants is a common arrangement. It may be considered where the gap is bounded by adequate bone at each end and where the bite can be shared across the implants; suitability is a matter for examination, imaging and a restorative plan made before any surgery. The evidence base is substantial: implant survival of about 95.6% at five years and 93.1% at ten. The figure worth pausing on is the prosthesis rather than the implant — the bridges themselves show around 80.1% survival at ten years, and roughly a third of patients have some complication within five, most often chipping of the veneering material. Planning therefore runs backwards from the intended bridge, and long-term success depends as much on maintenance and access for cleaning as on the surgery.
This is general information. Whether any treatment suits you depends on clinical examination, including imaging — no website can determine that.