Thursday, November 5, 2015

Dental Implants vs. Bridges and Dentures

Missing teeth can be an unattractive dental problem that creates issues beyond aesthetics. Teeth on either side of the gap in your smile can twist and turn toward the empty space, causing a painfully misaligned bite. But with dental implants, Dr. Plasch can fill the spaces in your smile and help support your oral health.

Dental implants provide significant benefits over other restorations, including:

Dentures

Dentures are prosthetic devices that replace missing teeth. Traditional dentures depend on an daily apply paste to adhere to soft tissue. This bond is prone to failure and can cause painful and embarrassing dental mishaps. The tremendous force of biting and chewing wears on dentures and they'll eventually need to be refitted or replaced.

Bridges

A bridge is a unit of one or more replacement teeth affixed to adjacent teeth. Bridges can last around five years, but can create secondary health issue. Teeth around the empty space in your smile must be filed down to anchor the bridge structure. This preparation of dental enamel results diminishes surface enamel that protects teeth from infection.


Dental implants are titanium posts added to a patient's jawbone, onto which replacement teeth are screwed or cemented. Since titanium is a biocompatible metal, it bonds with bone for stability and to promote better oral health through dense bone volume. Implants are strong and can a lifetime. One of the best parts about implants is that they are comfortable, and look and feel like natural teeth.

A Lifetime Solution

While dentures and bridges are serviceable tooth replacement methods, dental implants are a longer lasting solution that feel more like your own teeth and actually promote better oral health..
Where a bridge only lasts about five years, a dental implant lasts decades. It’s also important to note that maintain implants over the years does not require costly, frequent repair. If an implant ever needs to be restored, only the upper prosthetic – not the implant base – would need to be replaced..

Cost Compared to Value

Cost is factor in a patient's choice for tooth replacement solutions. Placement of dental implants is initially a greater investment than dentures or a bridge, but in the long run they can be much less expensive. A patient is often required to pay for an entirely new restoration every time their bridge or partial dentures need restoration. In time, denture and bridge patients end up paying more than if they'd chosen dental implants in the first place.

Learn more about Implant Dentistry

Each method has its oral health benefits and drawback. Patient should consider their needs, priorities and budget before deciding on an option. For more information on whether implants are the right choice for you, contact our Hayward implant dentist, Dr. Plasch, for more information.

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