Dental Bridge vs. Implant

When you lose one or more teeth, your options for tooth replacement are better than ever before. You don’t have to live with missing teeth. Choose a family dentist who also is a cosmetic dentist and knows your oral health and your goals for your appearance. A permanent bridge requires less preparation than dentures, but implants give you a lifetime of secure, functional dental health. Choose the best for your lifestyle.

A beautiful smile makes you attractive to the opposite sex. A sign of your general overall health, a healthy smile gives you confidence and opens doors for job opportunities. Tooth loss can happen anytime in your life, but not getting the proper treatment can limit your life choices. Dentists like those at Albany County Dental Associates can restore your smile with a complete smile makeover, while restoring your oral health.

The debate between a dental bridge vs. implant occurs because both offer solutions to tooth loss problems. Which treatment is better for you depends on the condition of your teeth, your preferences and your budget. Your cosmetic dentist works with you to help you find affordable dental options that provide the best solution.

Causes for Losing Your Teeth

If you’ve lost one or more teeth, don’t feel bad; you’re among 120 million other Americans who’ve also lost teeth. To make an informed decision between dental implant vs. bridge, your family dentist has to analyze the condition of your teeth and get a complete medical background from you.

There could be plenty of reasons for you losing your teeth, including:

  • Tooth Decay
  • Gum disease that leads to tooth extractions
  • Smoking and chewing tobacco
  • Sugary drinks
  • Poor oral hygiene
  • Diseases like diabetes or cancer
  • Certain medications
  • Sports-related injury
  • Accidents
  • Hereditary dental problems

Replacing Teeth Is Serious Business

Shrugging off the tooth loss is a serious mistake. The gaps between your teeth can ruin the way you bite or chew food. Shifting teeth can also dramatically impact your speech. Lost teeth leave spaces in your jaw bone, which eventually changes with the lack of tooth support. Replacing your teeth isn’t just for show, but also a necessity for your health.

The remaining teeth near the gap either shift or tilt, while the teeth on the opposite side of your jaw either come down or go up. All this puts undue stress on your teeth and jaw bone, which eventually leads to pain and more complicated and expensive dental treatments.

Getting a Dental Bridge

The decision to undergo dental bridge vs. implant treatment depends on your desires and your capital-area dentist’s recommendations. The bridge option is a less intrusive method of giving you artificial teeth. Teeth on either side of the gap become abutments or supporting teeth. The bridge, with fake teeth attached, fits over your abutment teeth, slotting the fake teeth into the empty space.

Dental bridges are less expensive than implants. Bridges generally last somewhere between five and 10 years. Your Albany Dental professional warns you that you must scale down healthy teeth to create the abutments. In other words, your dentist removes some otherwise healthy enamel.

According to the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry: “For a long time, fixed bridges were the best alternative for people who had lost teeth, as they were quite successful and aesthetically pleasing. Unfortunately, bridges can also present some problems because the natural teeth that lie on either side of the bridge are filed to accept the appliance. This step in the bridge-making procedure may make these teeth prone to bacterial plaque accumulations, decay, periodontal disease, and the possible need for future root canals.”

Getting Dental Implants

On the flip side of the dental implant vs. bridge debate, implants are more reliable and offer a permanent solution. The titanium implant screws are completely compatible with the human physiology, and easily fuse with your jaw bone. In addition, the implant anchors also encourage bone growth. But you may need to undergo two surgical operations to fit implants.

Implants work great for both single tooth loss and multiple tooth replacement. The crowns that fit on the implants function just like your natural teeth, giving you the freedom to eat and drink whatever you want. Dental implant bridges and overdentures are false teeth that sit on implants.

Where Do You Stand?

The Consumer Guide to Dentistry reports that the implant procedure should only be performed when bone growth is complete. A dentist must determine if a patient has enough bone for to hold an implant. Smokers do not make good candidates, since their failure rate is higher. Those with cancer, diabetes or gum disease need to treat these conditions before getting implants.

Talk with the dental implant specialists at Albany Dental to see if you are a suitable candidate for an implant, bridge or dental implant bridge. Base your decision on which factors are better for you. And only your dentist can help you choose between a dental bridge vs. implant.