Full arch
Full arch is the replacement of all teeth in one jaw with an implant supported prosthesis.
The arch is the jaw. An upper full arch and a lower full arch are two arches, and a patient treated in both jaws has received two arches even though they are one patient. That distinction is the reason arches per closed patient exists as a separate input in any honest model of this category.
The term describes the scope of the restoration rather than a specific technique, implant count, or product. Fixed and removable implant supported options both fall inside it, and the clinical choice between them belongs to the treating clinician.
What is included and what is excluded
Counts
- Replacement of all teeth in one jaw, upper or lower
- Fixed implant supported prostheses for a whole arch
- Removable implant retained prostheses for a whole arch
- Immediate and staged loading protocols
Does not count
- Single tooth implants
- Partial restorations covering a few teeth
- Conventional dentures with no implant support
- Any implication of a specific implant count or product
A worked example
A practice reports on ten patients treated in a quarter.
- 01Patients treated: 10
- 02Treated in one jaw only: 6
- 03Treated in both jaws: 4
- 046 x 1 arch = 6, and 4 x 2 arches = 8
- 056 + 8 = 14
Ten patients and 14 arches, which is 1.4 arches per closed patient.
How this differs from
- All-on-X
All-on-X names an implant supported approach. Full arch names the scope being restored.
- Cost per seated arch
That metric counts arches, so a dual arch patient counts twice.
- Started
Started counts patients who committed. Arches counts the jaws they committed to.
These definitions come from our published measurement standard. Read The Arch Standard for the reporting rules they sit inside, or see every term.
Want this measured in your practice? A consult walks through how we track it, if that is useful.
Book a consult