Dental Implant Or A Dental Bridge – Which Is The Best Option For You?
Although we’ve been fitting dental implants in Richmond with great success for many years, here at Sheen Dental we also deal in other forms of restorative dentistry such as crowns, dentures, and of course, bridges. Therefore more often than not when a patient comes to us with a broken or missing tooth they have several options open to them. Sometimes it’s hard for a patient to make the right dental decision that suits them as there are a series of pros and cons that come with each treatment type.
With this in mind, we felt that it would be a good idea to give you some advantages and disadvantages of two of the most popular methods, dental bridges and dental implants.
Dental Bridge
Dentists have been fitting dental bridges for decades and as such it’s a procedure that most people are familiar with. Unlike a dental implant a bridge doesn’t require any type of surgery and once impressions have been carried out a crown can be fitted the same day. It also doesn’t require as much work as a dental implant and therefore is by far the cheaper option. Just like an implant a dental bridge can prevent nearby teeth from drifting out of position and can also help to restore normal activities such as chewing and biting.
On the flip side dental bridges rely on the support of adjacent teeth to hold them in place. In fact in order to fit them, the adjacent healthy teeth will need to be ground down to take the supporting framework. This means that the otherwise healthy teeth are now having to take the full weight of the dental bridge, which in turn carries the crown.
Dental Implants
Unlike bridges, implants are relatively new in terms of restorative dentistry and although they’ve been around since the mid 1960’s people are still unfamiliar with how they work. In essence a titanium rod is anchored directly into the jaw bone during oral surgery. Once this happens a period of healing time is necessary in order for the surrounding bone tissue to merge and fuse with the rod to create a super-strong platform. This can take anywhere from 6-18 weeks depending on each individual. Only when this has happened can the abutment, and then finally the prosthetic crown, be fitted. Because of the time taken and the work involved, whether you opt for a dental implant in Richmond, or anywhere else in the country, initially they’re going to be more expensive.
That said, because of the way that implants are secured directly into the jaw bone, they don’t need the support of adjacent healthy teeth and as a result those teeth don’t need to be tampered with. In other words, dental implants are a stand-alone form of tooth replacement whereas standard dental bridges aren’t.
Although anyone undergoing surgery for dental implants in Richmond will find that they have to pay more initially, in the long term they might actually be considered a good investment. The shelf life of a dental implant can be as long as forty years or more provided they’ve been correctly cared for. On the flip side, the average shelf life of a standard dental bridge is somewhere around 7-10 years.
Hopefully this has given you some insight into deciding which is the better option for you. If you want to find out more about your dental options then contact Sheen Dental for a free, no-obligation consultation on 020 8876 5277 where you can discuss your options. Alternatively, if you’re swaying towards dental implants, then check out our website at www.sheendentalimplants.co.uk where you can discover everything you need to know about them and much more besides.