Dental Implants Vs. Dental Bridges: Which One Is Better?
Tooth loss is a common problem confronting Americans and people globally. American adults lose at least one tooth between 35 and 44, and approximately 25 percent of Americans lose all their permanent teeth by 74. Getting replacements to keep your remaining teeth aligned is essential if you lose a tooth. Replacement teeth also help you maintain your facial appearance and avoid challenges when eating or speaking. The most common solutions for replacing missing teeth are dental bridges and dental implants.
Dental bridges are artificial teeth needing support from the adjacent teeth beside the missing tooth gap. Porcelain or plastic helps make dental bridges to match the natural color of your teeth. Bridges can cover one or multiple missing teeth.
Titanium helps make dental implants that function as your artificial tooth roots. Implants are embedded into your jawbone with screws to hold a dental crown or bridges in place.
When you visit the dentist in Bronx, NY, seeking replacements for missing teeth, you will likely receive an offer for bridges and implants. This article reviews dental implants vs. dental bridges to help you understand which option is best suited for your needs.
Dental Implants Vs. Dental Bridges
Implants and bridges both deliver natural-looking results. However, they are available with a set of benefits and downsides. Here is how both these tooth replacement solutions compare.
Dental Implant Benefits
Dental implants last for a lifetime with proper dental hygiene and are the longest-lasting solution for replacing teeth on the market. Implants retain their natural-looking appearance longer than bridges. Dental implants are standalone applications and don’t damage the healthy neighboring teeth next to the missing tooth gap. The success rate of dental implants in Bronx, NY, is approximately 98 percent.
Dental Bridge Benefits
You may receive dental bridges if you have dental insurance. Bridges are less expensive than dental implants and require less surgery. The procedure for getting dental bridges requires just a couple of minutes to dental Bridges Bronx, NY.
Dental Implant Downsides
Dental implants aren’t covered by dental insurance and cost more than dental bridges. The procedure for getting dental implants needs six months or more and may lead to surgical complications.
Dental Bridge Downsides
Dental bridges require replacements every 5-7 years. With proper dental hygiene, you can prolong the life of bridges for over a decade. Bridges relinquish their natural-looking impression with time. With dental bridges, you can become more susceptible to tooth decay and cavities in the surrounding teeth than with implants that don’t attract tooth decay. Bridges need support from the adjacent teeth around the missing tooth.
Choosing between Dental Implants and Bridges
Our Bronx dentist can help you choose the best tooth replacement solution for your unique situation. You must consider factors like your budget, how many teeth you want to have replaced, and your overall health before deciding.
If you possess dental insurance, your provider will likely cover dental bridges instead of implants. Unfortunately, if you don’t have insurance and both options are not within your budget, you can discuss alternatives with your dentist.
A dental bridge is a suitable option if you are missing more than one consecutive tooth. However, if you decide on dental implants, you need a separate implant for every tooth.This surgery for each individual tooth results in an expensive replacement procedure.
Dental implants require surgery and may not be a suitable option if you have medical conditions that might hamper healing. For example, diseases like diabetes and leukemia prevent recovery from dental implant surgery and might lead to dental implant failure. Optimal candidates for dental implants must be in good overall health and have a jawbone adequately healthy to support implant placement.
Which Option Will You Consider?
The dental implant procedure requires months to complete, whiledental bridges get installed in a couple of visits to the Bronx dentist. When getting dental implants, the dentist drills your jawbone to attach the titanium post to function as your artificial tooth root. You might also receive a temporary tooth over the implant as you wait for your jawbone to integrate with the titanium post.
You might have to wait for 2-6 months for osseointegration to complete before placing a porcelain crown over the implant to function as your artificial tooth.
Before choosing between dental implants or dental bridges, you help yourself by scheduling an appointment with BX Dental to determine which solution is optimal for your needs.