Dental Implant vs. Dental Bridges

Spaces in your smile can seriously impact patients’ self-confidence. To help complete smiles, dental implants and bridges are often recommended options for restoring missing teeth. As each procedure has its own advantages and drawbacks, it is important for patients to be fully informed before choosing the best restoration for their smile.

Dental Implants

Made up of three components, dental implants are considered the ideal solution for replacing missing teeth. During this treatment, titanium implant posts are surgically inserted into jaw bone. Over the course of recovery, these biocompatible components fuse with the rest of the bone tissue to create a solid foundation for the final porcelain restoration. As implants are precisely designed to replicate the shape and function of tooth roots, this alternative treatment prevents jaw bone resorption.

While implants tend to have larger up-front costs than traditional dentures or bridges, dental implants and implant-supported restorations are often considered long-term investments given their longevity. Whereas traditional restorations must be replaced or expanded frequently to maintain functionality, implants are permanent and can prevent additional problems from damaging the smile. Additionally, multiple implants can be used to support larger restorations like bridges and dentures.

Dental Bridges

Often the go-to treatment for tooth loss, dental bridges come in three varieties: the traditional bridges, which use a crown for each tooth on either side of the gap; Cantilever bridges, which are secured to adjacent teeth at one side of the gap; and Maryland bonded bridges or resin bonded, on which plastic teeth and gums secured to a metal frame work is bonded to existing teeth.

While bridges take less time to create and place than dental implants, this traditional restoration is only a temporary solution to tooth loss. As neighboring teeth must be filed or altered to support dental bridges, this procedure can unnecessarily damage otherwise healthy teeth, leaving them vulnerable to infection and accelerating deterioration. With this in mind, many patients with dental bridges find themselves facing frequent retreatment as well as more extensive restoration needs. Over time, these costs can quickly add up, making bridges a more expensive treatment in the long-term.

At our Lorton and Springfield dental practices, Dr. Snehal Patel is here to help you find the right solution for your smile. Whether you’re looking to replace one tooth or an entire arch with implants and implant-supported dentures or bridges, Lorton-Springfield Dental Implants & Oral Surgery offers comprehensive treatments tailored to your smile. To learn more, contact our nearest location today. 

What is Osseointegration?

Compared to traditional restorations, dental implants offer a lifelong solution for replacing any number of missing teeth. Valued as a highly versatile restorative option, much of the long-term success associated with dental implants derives from how this treatment interacts with other parts of patients’ smiles.

The Problem with Traditional Restorations
Natural teeth roots serve as stimulation for the jaw bone, ensuring stable dental function. When a tooth is lost, the bone also loses its necessary point of stimulation. While conventional restoration options such as bridges, partials, and dentures may be effective for temporarily treating tooth loss, these prosthetics sit above the gum line and do not interact with the jaw bone. Over time, the lack of jaw bone stimulation caused by general tooth loss and compounded by the restoration can cause bone deterioration. Known as resorption, this subsequent bone loss weakens the overall strength of the dentition and can trigger additional tooth loss.

Creating an Implant Support System
During implant placement, a titanium screw is placed directly into the jaw bone, mimicking the stimulation provided by the natural tooth. As a result, the bone begins to form around the implant, effectively incorporating the substitute root. Known as the process of osseointegration, this naturally-occurring process is directly tied to the success of the implant as a whole for several reasons:

• Prevents Resorption: Dental implants are designed to interact with the bone just like natural teeth do. By using an implant, rather than a bridge to replace a missing tooth, the bone can be comprehensively stimulated, thus preventing resorption and additional tooth loss.
• Stabilizes Future Restorations: Whether you’re receiving a single crown or using several implants to support a full-arch restoration, successful osseointegration prevents the need for total implant replacement in the future. Additionally, osseointegration helps to preserve dental function, allowing patients to enjoy lifelike teeth replacement. 
• Preserve Facial Structure: Bone resorption can also trigger changes in facial structure, leading to the premature aging and facial collapse. By stimulating osseointegration with dental implants, patients are able to preserve facial aesthetics. 

At Lorton-Springfield Dental Implants & Oral Surgery, our team is dedicated to helping patients achieve and maintain their smiles through dental implants and implant-supported dentures. For more information about this service, contact our Northern Virginia oral surgeon today.