If you’ve suffered tooth loss, then you may want to put the tooth replacement options against each other before you visit a dentist for either of them. When it comes to tooth replacement, the two best options you have are bridges and dental implants. Now, you may want to know which one among implants and bridges is better for you. While we can’t say for sure that one’s better than the other, we will list down the pros and cons of each to help you make an informed decision. So, without wasting any further time, let’s look at the pros and cons of both dental implants vs bridges. This will help you to decide which tooth replacement option you should visit a dentist for.

Dental Implants

Pros and Cons of Dental Implants

We’ll start with the pros of implants.  Following are some major ones.

Minimal Maintenance

One reason you should choose implants over bridges is that the latter requires far less maintenance than the former. Even if you don’t maintain them much, implants will last a lifetime without losing their shine.

Natural Looking

The natural look of an implant is another reason to visit a dentist for it. To ensure that you won’t miss your natural tooth, the dental surgeon makes the implant to match your other teeth in terms of translucence and color.

Protect Your Jawbone

An open space in your mouth where the tooth is missing will put your jawbone at the risk of decay. To prevent bone loss, dental implants activate and maintain the bone’s natural growth.

No Strain on other Teeth

Without putting any strain on other teeth, an implant stands firmly on its own support. As a result, the surrounding teeth remain unharmed.

While implants have many pros, they aren’t free of cons. Following are some cons of implants:

A Lengthy Procedure

The procedure to get implants is lengthy. To be specific, it takes between five to eight months including three to five months for bone structure evaluation and implant preparation and a month or two for gum healing post-surgery.

Expensive Upfront

One thing that discourages most people from getting implants for their missing teeth is the high upfront cost of dental implants. But, since implants last a lifetime, the high upfront cost shouldn’t matter too much.

Pros and Cons of Bridges

Once again, we’ll start with the pros.

Simple Procedure

A simple procedure, the procedure to get bridges is one of the reasons people prefer bridges over implants for replacing their missing teeth. In case you didn’t know that already, the process is only a few weeks long.

Affordable

Unlike implants, bridges don’t cost much upfront. Though, unlike the latter, they need to be replaced after every seven to fifteen years. So, while they’re affordable upfront, they don’t last a lifetime which in most cases makes them more expensive than implants.

The cons of Bridges include:

  • Potential damage to natural teeth
  • Periodic replacement
  • Unnatural look

By considering the aforementioned-pros and cons of dental implants and bridges, you can make an informed decision about which one to visit a dentist for.