Implants vs Bridges
West Hartford, CT
 Your teeth are an important feature of your mouth. Suffering tooth loss, even losing just one tooth, can have several significant effects on your entire life. There are many ways in which you can lose teeth, including gum disease and facial trauma. Whether your teeth fall out on their own or they need to be extracted, they need to be replaced. Replacing one or two missing teeth can be replaced in one of two ways, bridges, and Dental Implants. At Elmwood Dental, we can help to determine the best treatment for you.
What Happens if I Lose a Tooth?
Losing even just one tooth can have several significant effects on your life.
| • |
Losing a tooth toward the front of your mouth can impact the quality of your smile and your confidence.
|
| • |
Biting and chewing become more challenging. This can affect the ability of your body to effectively digest foods, impacting your nutrition.
|
| • |
Your speech suffers and may cause you to develop a lisp.
|
| • |
Food can get lodged in the space, increasing your risk of tooth decay and gum disease.
|
| • |
Bite pressure becomes unevenly distributed, increasing the risk of tooth damage.
|
| • |
Your healthy teeth begin to shift out of proper alignment, throwing off your bite. This can then lead to bruxism and problems with your temporomandibular joints. |
A dental bridge is a traditional treatment for replacing a single tooth. It can be used to replace up to three consecutive missing teeth. There are a few different types of bridges, with a fixed bridge being the most common. Typically made from a solid piece of ceramic, a bridge consists of a replacement tooth, called the Pontic tooth, which is set between two crowns. The Pontic tooth fills in the space, replacing your missing tooth, while the crowns anchor the bridge into place on the adjacent teeth or abutment teeth. The abutment teeth are reduced in size to make room for the restoration. Once ready, the bridge is set into place on abutment teeth and secured into place with dental cement.
Benefits and Disadvantages of a Bridge
Benefits of a bridge include:
| • |
Filling in the empty space in your smile. Ceramic perfectly matches the color and shine of your natural teeth, allowing it to blend in perfectly.
|
| • |
Your confidence improves.
|
| • |
You can eat and speak properly again.
|
| • |
Your digestion and nutrition improve.
|
| • |
Your oral health is improved. |
There are also a few drawbacks to a bridge as well.
| • |
We have to remove enamel from each abutment tooth for the restoration to fit perfectly in your mouth.
|
| • |
Your abutment teeth support your bridge, which can cause discomfort.
|
| • |
A bridge cannot stop bone loss in your jaw. This means that your jaw continues to change shape. As a result, your bridge may need to be replaced to accommodate the changes that occur. |
Dental Implants
Dental implants are an alternative treatment to a traditional bridge. They can be used to replace any number of missing teeth, including a single tooth. Implants consist of titanium posts, which are surgically implanted into your jawbone. Your bone gradually fuses to the posts, stabilizing them in your jaw so that they can provide secure support for your restoration, or ceramic crown. An abutment, or connector, is placed on the implant before the crown and helps to provide stability for your new tooth.
Benefits and Disadvantages of an Implant
Implants offer several incredible advantages, including:
| • |
They look exactly like your real teeth, perfectly restoring your smile and boosting your confidence.
|
| • |
They feel and function just like your real teeth. They restore your abilities to eat and speak as well as improve your digestion and oral health.
|
| • |
Your tooth is supported by the implant post and your jaw, rather than your adjacent teeth.
|
| • |
The post, like the roots of your natural teeth, stimulates your jawbone. This stops bone loss in your jaw, helping to preserve its integrity. |
Regardless of how you lose a tooth, it is crucial that it be replaced. For more information on bridges and dental implants, and to find out which option is right for you, call Elmwood Dental today at (833) 432-1457. |
