Why Dental Implants Are A Superior Choice To Bridges

If you have one or more missing teeth, you may find yourself trying to decide what the best form of replacement is. Dental implants and bridges are both frequently recommended, but there are some major differences between them. If you're trying to pick the right one for you, here are three reasons why bridges are simply inferior to dental implants.

Damage to Surrounding Healthy Teeth

Bridges can unfortunately cause problems for the healthy surrounding teeth near the bridge. Bridges rely upon surrounding teeth to keep them in place, but this puts stress and strain on those teeth. Teeth aren't meant to have something constantly pushing or pulling on them, which can cause damage to the visible part of the tooth as well as the root. Studies have shown that you could increase your risk of losing your remaining teeth if you choose a bridge.

Implants, on the other hand, stand on their own and only rely upon the strength and health of your gums and jaw to stay in place. This is the way real teeth work, so it doesn't cause any problems for oral health.

Less Pressure Transferred to Jaw

Bridges do a good job of helping you to chew like you would with real teeth, but they don't do all of the same things real teeth do. Real teeth help to distribute pressure down into your jaw, which helps it to stay strong and durable. Since bridges sit on top of your gum line and don't extend beyond it, they can't act like real teeth do, and your jaw could begin to weaken as a result.

Dental implants, on the other hand, are installed on metal pegs that go down beneath the gums and into the bone. This helps to send pressure down in the same way that real teeth do, which will help to keep your jaw strong.

Less Permanent

Lastly, dental bridges don't last as long as implants. You can expect dental implants to last up to 25 years if you treat them well. On the other hand, bridges typically only last between 5 to 15 years. Plus, if your surrounding teeth are damaged prematurely, you may need a new, larger bridge that bypasses those teeth in order to keep using a bridge.

Having a dental bridge installed is better than going without any kind of tooth replacement at all. However, dental implants are superior in nearly every way. If you need teeth replaced, talk to a dentist like Kenneth Schweizer DDS PA about implants.