When you need to replace a single lost tooth, you can receive one of two restorative care options: a porcelain bridge or a single-unit dental implant that supports a crown. On the surface, it seems like a bridge—which requires no surgical care and is covered by most insurance plans—would be the more effective option. However, an implant crown offers several advantages over a dental bridge that could make it the better treatment for you.
Lifespan of Treatment
One of these key benefits is that restorations supported by dental implants tend to last much longer than their traditional counterparts.
A bridge relies on teeth neighboring the site of restoration for support. The bridge has crowns that are added to these teeth to suspend the replacement tooth and to provide a strong enough foundation that the prosthetic can be effectively used to chew food. If the health of these supporting teeth is compromised, then the entire bridge has to be removed to save their health; the prosthetic might even have to be replaced if one or both of the supporting teeth cannot be saved.
In contrast, the dental implant crown is supported directly by the jaw through the implant post. The post is a permanent addition to the jaw that lasts long after any other teeth in the smile are lost. Additionally, the crown itself is both very durable and easy to replace if it ever did break.
Leaving Healthy Teeth Alone
The fact that dental implant restorations leave the remaining teeth in the smile alone makes these prosthetics much healthier for you. If a bridge were to break or otherwise require replacement, the teeth supporting it would require some manner of restorative care. They were permanently altered to host the bridge’s anchoring crowns, and they will not be able to survive within the smile without immediate care. When you choose a dental implant crown, however, you avoid any changes to the health of your remaining teeth.
Restoring the Jaw
In addition to the more obvious problems with losing a tooth, you will have to manage the health of your jaw. Without the roots of the recently-lost tooth to support, the section of the jaw that lost the tooth will shrink, reducing your own bone tissue and leaving yours with a more fragile jaw. This can leave you prone to injury, increase your chances of losing more teeth, and—if enough teeth are lost—make you look much older than you really are.
Bridges rest atop the gum line and do nothing to treat the jaw. Dental implants, however, give the jaw a new root to support through the implant post, halting and preventing the resorption process.
Contact Us for Dental Implant Care
Y. Danielle Marquis, DDS, MPH provides dental implant restorations in San Francisco and the surrounding communities. For more information about Dr. Marquis’ approach to restorative dental care, call our practice and schedule an appointment today!