“Which is better, bridge or implant?”

Hi! I think a picture is worth a 1000 words. Here is a link for you to review to understand each is better:

https://youtu.be/wg5CSEGVYbo

Every patient is different. If you have enough supporting bone and enough space for an implant and a crown, I would prefer an implant. The reason is with an implant you can floss in between your teeth and the adjacent teeth do not have to be prepared. Having said that, if your adjacent teeth have large fillings or faulty restorations it maybe a good idea to make a bridge and correct all.

Implants are popular these days, and they do have advantages no question. Bridges also have advantages, and sometime the dentist will steer you to the choice they want without exploring the advantages of other treatments.

The best treatment for replacing a single tooth is always IMPLANT. The reason are:A bridge requires reduction of adj teeth. This is never a good plan, especially if they are perfectly in a good condition. Sometimes adj. teeth are small therefore a reduction may result in root canal therapy.If in the future one of those teeth require further treatment you will have to replace three teeth involved in the bridge; the two adj teeth and the missing teeth. Many patient rely on insurance coverage which at most is 50 to 80%, with maximum allowance of $1500 to $2000, you may reach your max prior to coverage for the bridge and your copay may increase. For a bridge, your payment is for three or more crowns depending on the number of the teeth involved in the bridge; hence your payment is very close to the implant cost. The most important issue for replacement of a single front tooth is cosmetic factor. Matching a single tooth requires expertise in cosmetic dentistry.

Bridge is easier and less costly than an implant; however an implant has better longevity making it less expensive in the long run. Note that implants require proper bone, and sometimes the right bone doesn’t exist and needs to be built up which affects time and cost. These are all concerns that should be discussed with your provider. 

Depends on many factors. How much bone is available, any medical concerns, current medications, gum and jaw bone health, etc. Best would be to sit down with your dentist and go over your X-rays/medical history etc and see what’s the best. In general, if an implant can be done, it’s a good long-term solution.

Hope this helps,

Dr. Cherry Harika

Much better to have an implant. This way you're not cutting down the adjacent teeth that may not have anything wrong with them and if there is an issue in the future, you're dealing with one tooth vs. multiple teeth.

Owen M. Waldman, DMD

If the teeth on each side are good, an implant.
If the teeth on each side have fillings, then get a
bridge.