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Artisan Dentistry's Blog

Dental Bridge vs. Dental Implant

Jan 30th, 2023

Dental Implants and dental bridges are both viable methods for replacing a missing tooth or teeth. How does a dentist decide, then if they should replace teeth with dental implants or a dental bridge? Here are some considerations you and your dentist may discuss.

Strength of anchoring teeth
Since a dental bridge is anchored to adjacent teeth, those teeth need to be sturdy enough to support the pressure on the bridge. If the adjacent tooth already has a crown on it, or has a large filling, or has undergone a root canal, it may weaken the tooth to the point it can no longer be used as a support (or abutment) of the bridge. A dental implant, on the other hand, is supported from beneath, acting as a tooth’s root, ensuring stability.

Length of bridge
Long bridges need more support than shorter ones, so if multiple teeth are being replaced with the bridge there may not be enough anchoring teeth to support it. Dental implants, on the other hand can be placed at appropriate intervals to ensure stability of a longer bridge. In fact, a full row of teeth may be able to be supported by just four dental implants.

Bone loss at site
When the gums and bone don’t have a tooth or dental implant in them, the body starts absorbing the tissue at the site of the missing tooth in a process called resorption. If the tissue at the site of the missing tooth has started being absorbed by the body it may mean there isn’t enough bone to place a dental implant. In a situation such as this one a tooth-supported bridge may be used.

Fear of future bone loss
Since a tooth-supported dental bridge doesn’t prevent resorption, dentists and patients may prefer implants as a longer term solution since implants act like the root of a tooth, preventing the tissue from being absorbed by the body.

Fear damaging healthy teeth
Often the teeth being drilled down and shaped in order to support the dental bridge are perfectly healthy teeth. The shaping and drilling process that’s used to prepare them for the dental bridge is irreversible. Since both dentist an patients are hesitant to damage healthy teeth to create the anchors for the bridge, a dental implant is often the preferred solution.

Longevity of dental bridges
A dental bridge only lasts as long as the anchoring teeth. Thinking of the long term, a patient or dentist may choose dental implants if the anchoring teeth are expected to eventually be lost.

If you live near Newburyport, MA or Salem, NH and are looking for a dentist to replace missing teeth, book a cosmetic dental consultation with Dr. Paul Mathew to find out which solution would work best for you.

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Our 5 Year Warranty

Anyone can train to be a technician, but few have the talent to become an artist. That’s why Dr. Mathew is able to guarantee his cosmetic dentistry work for a full 5 years. If anything goes wrong with the work, Dr. Mathew will fix it free of charge, as long as you continue with your regular 6 month preventative care cleaning and check up for the duration of the warranty.

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Our individualized treatment rooms and operatories provide patients with maximum privacy and comfort. The treatment rooms were built specifically with your comfort in mind.

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Here at Paul Mathew, D.D.S. we work diligently to protect our patients' privacy. Requesting an appointment via our Internet portal is considered part of what the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) has identified as electronically protected healthcare information or ePHI. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, there are people or entities that may attempt to intercept the data you transmit to us. By checking the "I agree" box, and electronically making an appointment request, you acknowledge that you are making an appointment over the internet and that Paul Mathew, D.D.S. will keep this information confidential but cannot guarantee that others, outside of our practice, may illegally intercept this communication. By accepting these terms and conditions and sending this request via our Internet portal, you accept the inherent risk(s) associated with making this request for an appointment. If you do not accept the terms and conditions, you are always welcome to contact our office via telephone to schedule your appointment.

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Here at Paul Mathew, D.D.S. we work diligently to protect our patients' privacy. Requesting an appointment via our Internet portal is considered part of what the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) has identified as electronically protected healthcare information or ePHI. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, there are people or entities that may attempt to intercept the data you transmit to us. By checking the "I agree" box, and electronically making an appointment request, you acknowledge that you are making an appointment over the internet and that Paul Mathew, D.D.S. will keep this information confidential but cannot guarantee that others, outside of our practice, may illegally intercept this communication. By accepting these terms and conditions and sending this request via our Internet portal, you accept the inherent risk(s) associated with making this request for an appointment. If you do not accept the terms and conditions, you are always welcome to contact our office via telephone to schedule your appointment.

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The information presented here is not intended or implied to be medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. It should be used for informational purposes only.