I broke a tooth should I have a tooth implant or bridge

Q. I broke a tooth and a half sometime last year. I am currently contemplating to either have the tooth implant or the bridge. What are the good and bad of having a tooth implant and a bridge?

A. There are a number of pros and cons in having a bridge or an implant.

Bridges used to be the only way of replacing a missing tooth with fixed solution. The advantages of a bridge are that they are a relatively quick to make and fit ( approx 2 weeks) and can look very life-like. If the teeth used to hold the bridge in place are already heavily filled they will be protected from the possibility of fracturing, and they can also have an aesthetic improvement. Localised bite problems can be improved.

The disadvantages of bridges is the need to prepare adjacent teeth for crowns to hold the bridge in place. This can lead to nerve problems with these teeth. If in the future there was a problem with one of these teeth then the whole bridge will probably need to be replaced. The success rate of a bridge is about 80% over 10 years. This is fairly high but not as good as for implants ( in the 94% region often)

Implants have a very high success rate and do not affect the teeth either side when properly placed. Obviously surgery is involved but in most cases this is very manageable by the patient. The main downside with implants is their cost. However a single implant cost compared to a private bridge is usually in the same region. Only when multiple implants are placed does the cost begin to escalate in comparison to standard bridges.

Kindest regards

Dr Julian Caplan BDS
Director on the board of the British Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry

Aviva Cosmetic Dentistry
www.avivacosmeticdentistry.co.uk
101 St. Peters Street,
St. Albans, Hertfordshire.
AL1 3EN

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Tags: dental bridge, tooth implant

This post was published on Thursday, May 29th, 2008 at 10:46 amand is filed under Dr Caplan's Answers, Experts Answers, Q. Broken teeth, Q. Dental Bridges, Q. Dental Implants. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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