A bridge or an implant? that is a good question we often get asked by patients. A bridge literally bridges the gap between missing teeth. It involves grinding down the adjacent teeth to support the bridge. It is a good solution that has several drawbacks though: damaging healthy teeth to restore the gap, the teeth become more susceptible to decay as well over time since the bridge is one unit.
The average life span of a bridge is under 10 years. The most often cause of bridge failure is getting decay underneath it requiring total removal of the bridge. When a new bridge is made, other teeth may need to be added for strength if the decayed tooth is no longer strong enough to support a bridge. We often state that bridges and implants for a single missing space are roughly the same cost, so an implant is often the most suitable replacement choice.
