Dental Bridge Vs. Dental Implant: Which Is Right for You?
Losing teeth is a common phenomenon among the young and elderly, with approximately 69 percent of adults between 35 to 44 losing at least one tooth and 25 percent of Americans losing all their teeth by 74.
Tooth loss makes it inevitable for you to get a suitable replacement to ensure your remaining natural teeth stay aligned to prevent needing teeth straightening treatments just because you lost a tooth or two. Instead, if you seek replacements for the missing teeth, the substitute helps maintain your facial appearance and prevents challenges when eating and speaking.
When seeking replacement teeth, the two most typical options offered by dentists in Arizona include dental bridges and implants.
Dental bridges are fake teeth held in place by the teeth around the missing tooth gap. Porcelain or plastic generally helps make dental bridges closely match the natural color of your remaining teeth. Bridges help replace one or several missing teeth.
Dental implants are similar to your missing tooth roots fabricated from biocompatible titanium. Implants are embedded in your jawbone with screws to hold a dental crown or bridge to serve as your missing tooth.
As a patient with missing teeth, you might not have sufficient information about whether implants or bridges are best suited for your situation. This article looks at the factors that help you assess which option is right for you.
Dental Implants Vs. Bridges
Dental implants and bridges can deliver natural-looking results as teeth replacement solutions. However, they come with benefits and downsides, which you must understand before choosing any option. Here is how these two options compare
- Dental Bridge Benefits: If seeking dental bridges as replacement teeth, you will likely receive coverage from your insurance provider to reduce some of its costs. Dental bridges do not require higher upfront costs, and you can receive your dental restoration in a couple of visits to your dentist. In addition, getting dental bridges is minimally invasive without needing surgery or bone grafting procedures.
- Dental Bridge Downsides: Dental bridges need replacements every five or seven years, although they can last for a decade with proper maintenance. Bridges do not retain their natural sheen and can lose their appearance with age. Cavities and tooth decay in the surrounding teeth can occur, and bridges can damage the teeth neighboring the edentulous gap.
- Dental Implant Benefits: Implants can last for 15 years or more, making them the most durable option for replacing missing teeth. Implants retain their natural appearance longer than bridges and don’t damage your healthy teeth beside the missing tooth gap. Dental implants are incredibly successful, with 97 percent of patients receiving them expressing happiness with their replacements.
- Dental Implant Downsides: Dental implants are less likely to receive coverage from your insurance provider, making you responsible for a higher upfront cost. Dental implants require six months or more, and surgical complications may follow you occasionally.
Choosing between Dental Implants and Bridges
The Dentist Arizona, Phoenix, can guide you on the best replacement solution for your situation after considering your unique needs, the number of missing teeth, and factors like your budget, overall health, et cetera.
- Cost: if you are covered by dental insurance, you will likely receive coverage for dental bridges. Unfortunately, if you don’t have insurance and bridges or implants are beyond your price range, you can discuss the matter with the dentist, who might offer partial dentures or other solutions.
- Missing Teeth: dental bridges are better if you have more than one consecutive missing tooth than implants. This is because separate implants need surgical attachment in your jawbone for every tooth, making the dental implant procedure expensive and impractical.
- Overall Health: the need for surgery to get dental implants can make it challenging for you if you have medical conditions like diabetes or immunosuppressive disorders that can slow healing. You confront no challenges if you favor dental bridges because getting them doesn’t require surgery or invasive procedures.
- Procedure Timeline: Getting dental implants requires multiple visits to the Arizona dentist, who also offers cosmetic dentistry services to cover the gaps in your mouth by providing natural-looking and feeling artificial teeth supported by dental implants. Unfortunately, waiting several months for your implants to fuse with your jawbone before getting dental crowns mounted atop them is also a requirement making the entire procedure lengthy. In contrast, you can receive a dental bridge in two trips to the Arizona dentist to replace your teeth faster than dental implants.
Dental implants and bridges are two solutions for replacing missing teeth. Whichever option you consider, you must learn about the benefits and downsides of both before accepting your dentist’s suggestion if you feel it is right for you.
Arizona Family Dentistry provides dental implants and bridges for patients needing replacements for missing teeth. If you are in a similar situation, kindly arrange an appointment with them to discuss whether dental implants or bridges best suit your needs to close the edentulous gaps in your mouth as soon as possible.