Implant-Supported Bridge: Three or Four Teeth on Two Implants

If you are missing three or four teeth in a row, you do not need one implant for every gap. Two implants, one at each end of the space, can carry a fixed bridge of three or four teeth. At Medicus Molaris the number of implants, their position, the material of the bridge and the price of every line are decided from a CBCT scan and written down before you book a flight. An implant-supported bridge starts from 300–450 euro per implant for the clinic’s standard system, with the bridge priced per unit on top.

What it is

A fixed bridge held by implants, not by your own teeth

Teeth replaced

Three or four in a row, in one section of one jaw

Implants used

Usually two, occasionally three for a four-tooth span

Time in the chair

45 to 90 minutes to place two implants under local anaesthesia

Visits

Two: surgery first, the finished bridge 3–6 months later

Days in Tirana

2–3 days for the surgery, then 2–3 days for the bridge

Price from

300–450 euro per implant, 150–250 euro per zirconia unit

Guarantee

5 years on the fixtures, 5 years on the bridge

When two implants can carry three teeth

A bridge spans the gap, so the tooth in the middle sits on nothing. It is held by the two ends. Whether that works for you depends on three measurements the CBCT gives us: how much bone height and width sits at each end, how long the span is, and how hard you bite. A three-tooth span across the lower premolars behaves very differently from a three-tooth span at the back of the upper jaw, where bone is softer and the chewing load is higher.

The surgical method is the same one described on our dental implants page: a CBCT scan, a printed surgical guide, one surgeon from start to finish. Two implants and three teeth is the usual design. For four teeth in a row we look at whether the span is short enough to stay on two implants or whether a third implant in the middle is the safer engineering. That decision is made before you travel, not in the chair, because it changes the quote. If the CBCT shows the bone is not there yet, the plan includes a graft and says what it adds. Grafting is covered on the page about bone grafting for implants.

How it differs from a bridge on your own teeth

A conventional bridge borrows support from the healthy teeth either side. Those teeth are cut down to hold crowns, and the bone under the missing tooth carries no load, so it slowly thins. An implant bridge borrows nothing. The teeth next door keep their enamel and the bone under each implant keeps being used.

The trade is time and money. A three-unit bridge on natural teeth is 400–600 euro and takes 3–5 days in one visit. Two implants plus a three-unit bridge costs more and needs two visits several months apart. There are still cases where the conventional route is the right call, and they are set out on the page about tooth-supported dental bridges.

How it differs from All-on-4

People searching for a bridge on implants often land on full-arch pages and get confused. The difference is what is left in the jaw. An implant bridge replaces a section: three or four teeth, with your own teeth still standing either side. A full-arch solution replaces every tooth in the jaw on four or six implants, and it is only for a jaw that has no teeth worth keeping. If your remaining teeth are sound, a sectional bridge keeps them. If they are failing one by one, read All-on-4 dental implants before you spend on a section you may replace again in five years.

What it costs, line by line

Your plan lists these lines separately, with a quantity against each, so you can see what you are paying for rather than a single package number.

The total is the sum of those lines and it appears once, as a figure, in your written plan. Nothing is added on the day of surgery unless you agree to it in writing first. How that works is set out in how your quote works.

Your visit

FAQ

Can I have the bridge fitted on the same trip as the surgery?

Not the final one. The implants have to knit to the bone first, which takes 3–6 months depending on where they are and whether a graft was needed. If the gap is visible, we fit a temporary so you do not fly home with a space. Booking the second visit before you leave is the part people forget, and it is the reason the plan gives you both sets of dates at the start.

Is a bridge on two implants weaker than three separate crowns?

It is a different design rather than a weaker one. Three implants each carrying a crown spread the load over three roots and cost more. Two implants carrying three teeth put the middle tooth’s load onto the two ends, which is why the span length and your bite force decide the design. Heavy grinders and long spans get an extra implant in the plan.

What happens if one implant fails?

The bridge is removed, the site is assessed, and in most cases a new implant is placed once the bone has healed. This is covered by the written guarantee on the fixture for 5 years under the conditions listed in the plan. You send photographs first and we tell you whether it needs a return visit or whether a dentist at home can handle it.

How do I clean under an implant bridge?

With a small interdental brush or a single-tuft brush along the underside, once a day, plus normal brushing. The bridge is made with clearance beneath it so the brush passes. If you cannot reach a section comfortably at the fitting appointment, the bridge is adjusted before you leave rather than after you get home.

Can the bridge be made in metal-free zirconia?

Yes, and that is the default here. Zirconia units are priced at 150–250 euro each. The framework choice is listed in your plan with the reason for it, and the comparison between materials is set out on the crowns pages if you want the detail before you decide.

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