How Dental Implants Compare to Bridges

Losing a tooth might not seem like a big deal in the grand scheme of things, but the truth is the loss can have a dramatic impact on your bite’s function. It can also increase your risks of losing more teeth, and therefore, experiencing increasingly worse dental health. Traditionally, dental bridges have been the most effective way to replace a missing tooth and restore your bite’s function. However, with a dental implant-supported restoration, you can also restore the functions of your lost tooth’s root, which are vital to keeping your jawbone healthy and avoiding many of the consequences of tooth loss.

What Is a Dental Bridge?
Dental bridges are called such because the lifelike replacement for your lost tooth, known as the pontic, closes the gap in your smile. The pontic is supported by crowns on either side, which your dentist bonds to the healthy remaining teeth that are closest to the lost tooth. By filling the gap in your smile, a bridge restores the balance your bite needs to function properly, as well as the uniformity that improves your smile’s appearance.

What Is a Dental Implant?
A dental implant is called such because the small, supportive post is inserted into your jawbone, much like a natural tooth root. After your jawbone heals to the post, your dentist can secure a custom-designed dental crown to the post, which establishes a root-and-crown structure to completely replaces your lost tooth and its root.

Find Out if You’d Benefit More from a Dental Implant
Dental bridges can offer realistic looking tooth replacement, but only a dental implant can restore the root of your tooth and the stimulation that keeps your jawbone healthy. To learn more, schedule a consultation by calling Oxnard Dentistry in Oxnard, CA, today at (805) 604-9999. We also proudly serve patients from in and around Camarillo, Ventura, Thousand Oaks, Moore Park, and all surrounding communities.