Losing a tooth can be painful, physically as well as emotionally too. Imagine having to smile with some teeth missing randomly in your set. Most people with such cases would rather do so with a pair of closed lips as it wouldn’t look so pretty doing so with a set of teeth with few doors ajar, no offence intended.
When a tooth is lost due to injury or disease, a person can experience complications such as rapid bone loss, defective speech, or changes to chewing patterns that result in discomfort. These can be resolved with simple dental implant surgery or using dental bridges.
Dental Implants
Typically, a dental implant is a prosthetic device that strengthens a new tooth. It simply fills up a vacant tooth root. Having a dental implant attached to the jawbone is equivalent to getting a normal tooth replacement. A dental implant can function independently without affecting neighbouring teeth.
Dental Bridges
A dental bridge is a lasting device that substitutes for a missing tooth. It is a compilation of several merged pieces to cover the open space(s) where your tooth or teeth used to be.
The bridge may comprise several diverse types of material, including gold, alloys, or porcelain. Porcelain is most often the substance of choice when substituting a front tooth since it can be easily matched to your natural tooth colour.
Disparities
Dental bridges and dental implants are two common solutions used for teeth replacement. However, when it comes to certain considerations for use, they have very little in common. Here are a few differences between these two oral therapies:
Cost
The cost of getting either a bridge or dental implant depends on the type, properties of materials used for construction, and where you go for treatment. Typically, dental bridges cost between 500 – 2000 USD, while the price for dental implants ranges from 1500-6000 USD.
Usually, dental implants are considered more expensive when compared to dental bridges; if implants are too expensive and you need to consider dental implant alternatives, your dentist may recommend a dental bridge.
Durability
Dental bridges are replaced every 7-10 years due to loss, faulty teeth, or bad oral hygiene, while implants last much longer at rest. They can last throughout one’s lifetime, provided regular dental check-ups are maintained. The crown would have to be replaced every decade due to regular wear.
Treatment Length
While dental implant surgery may span for up to 2 hours, a dental bridge may require up to two visitations to the dental clinic or more. Once a dental implant is completed, the final tooth replacements become due in about three months.
Aesthetics
A common problem with the appearance of tooth replacements is bone or gum loss which would result in gap formations beneath the pontic. Although dental bridges and implants would initially look more like an actual tooth, dental bridges become more susceptible to this occurrence over time whereas dental implants stay perfectly fine and maintain their appearance throughout one’s lifetime.
Conclusion
For each unique customer, there is an equally unique metric used in determining the better choice for teeth replacement. For some, that could be the appearance, while others prefer its cost or durability. So, if you are thinking of the most appropriate procedure you could choose to replace a misplaced tooth or two now or sometime in the future, the following disparities would undoubtedly be helpful for selection.
