Dental Implants, Bridges or Dentures?

Dr. Jitt Masters, Prosthodontist, specializing in dental restorations.

Our team includes Dr. Jit Master, who has a post-graduate specialty in Prosthodontics. A prosthodontist designs, constructs and afits replacement teeth such as restorations for dental implants, crowns, bridges and dentures.

Missing teeth can be replaced with dental implants, bridges or dentures. Each option has its pro's and cons, depending on the health of your teeth and your budget.

With over 60 years of combined experienced in dentistry, including a Dr. Jit Masters, a dentist who is specialty-trained in this area, the dentists at Northwood Dental will evaluate your teeth and gums and help you choose the best option for you.

Dental Implants: A dental implant is a tooth that feels and functions like a natural tooth. It is a permanent fixture of titanium posts anchored to the jawbone and topped with individual replacement teeth or a bridge that screws or cements into the posts. Read more about Dental Implants here.

Bridge: A bridge is a dental restoration that spans an area that has no teeth and is connected to natural teeth at each end. A typical bridge consists of a pontic (a filler tooth) that is attached to two surrounding abutments (crowns). After completion, this bridge structure is then bonded into the mouth.

We offer all-ceramic bridges.

Dentures: Dentures, partial or complete, replace either the bottom arch or the top arch of your mouth. Read more about Dentures here .

Advantages of Dental Implants over Bridges

Advantages of Bridges over Dental Implants

Advantages of Dental Implants over Dentures

Are You a Candidate for Dental Implants?

Advantages of Dental Implants over Bridges

Your mouth will be restored as closely as possible to its natural state
Deter further tooth loss. When a bridge "goes bad", it usually means the loss of one or more teeth that support the bridge
Don't need to cut down adjacent teeth

The above middle tooth is an implant. The two middle teeth are implants.

This patient received two single implants: After

Advantages of Bridges over Dental Implants

Dental Implants can take longer to place. From extraction to healing to implant placement, it can be several months before you get a functional crown
Dental implants involve surgery
The initial cost of an implant will be higher than that of a fixed bridge

Advantages of Dental Implants over Dentures

Your mouth will be restored as closely as possible to its natural state
Permanently fixed & won't loosen
Keeps you looking younger by preventing shrinkage of jawbone
Deter further bone loss
No adhesives
Allow you to eat all foods

This patient received a combination of implants and dentures, which is a preferably alternative to dentures alone.

Fixed bridges and removable dentures are not the perfect solution for missing teeth and often bring with them a number of other problems. Removable dentures may slip or cause embarrassing clicking sounds while eating or speaking. Of even greater concern, fixed bridges often require the preparation (partial cutting) of adjacent healthy teeth, and removable dentures may lead to bone loss in the area where the tooth or teeth are missing. Recurrent decay, periodontal (gum) disease and other factors often doom fixed bridgework to early failure. For these reasons, fixed bridges and removable dentures usually need to be replaced every seven to 15 years, compared to an up to 25-year life span for dental implants.

Are You a Candidate for Dental Implants?

The ideal candidate for a dental implant has good general and oral health. Adequate bone in your jaw is needed to support the implant. Some people who have lost bone in their jaw still can get implants by having a bone-grafting procedure. People who are currently wearing partial or full dentures can replace these with dental implants, or use implants to stabilize and secure the denture, making it much more comfortable. People who are not good candidates for dental implants include:

Young patient whose jawbones have not fully developed
Pregnant women
Heavy smokers - smoking impedes healing in the mouth and can reduce the likelihood that implants will be successful. However, this doesn't eliminate the possibility of getting dental implants.
People with certain medical conditions.
Patients who take certain medications
People who severely grind or clench their teeth — these habits can place too much pressure on the implants and increase the risk of failure.

Call us for a personal consultation to see which option will work best for you. Call 727-797-5161 or click here to request an appointment online.