Dental bridges and dental implants are two of the most popular options out there for helping patients replace damaged or diseased teeth, restoring their smiles. However, although they perform similar functions and sometimes appear similar, these appendages serve very different purposes. Can you replace dental bridges with implants?
Can You Replace Dental Bridges with Implants?
Sometimes, a patient might be interested in replacing their dental bridges with a set of dental implants. Although this might sound somewhat intimidating, the good news is that this procedure is performed quite frequently with consistent success.
What Are Dental Implants?
Dental implantation is a process where a dentist replaces a missing tooth with an artificial one. During the implant procedure, a dentist surgically implants a screw into the jawbone that replaces the tooth’s natural root. A crown can be specifically made to be attached to the top of the screw. This is done in order to create a manufactured tooth to replace the damaged natural tooth.
Overall, dental implants are considered the vanguard of what the dental community uses in order to improve the appearance of a patient’s damaged teeth. For this reason, they’re considered the cutting edge of what’s available for patients today.
Dental implants are advantageous due to their ability to stimulate the jawbone, which dental bridges are unable to do. In fact, the dental bridge’s inability to be connected to the natural jaw has the potential to lead to a loss in bone mass for the patient.
What Are Dental Bridges?
Dental bridges have been in use slightly longer than dental implants, which makes them somewhat more tried and true than dental implants. However, both procedures are considered to be quite trustworthy overall.
A dental bridge is composed of a number of crowns, whose purpose is to cover the teeth next to the area where the missing tooth is in order to hold it in place. As stated above, the primary issue of dental bridge installation is that there is no natural attachment to the jawbone.
Dental bridges can be composed of any number of teeth. The amount of teeth that your personal dental bridge will be composed of may
Can You Replace a Dental Bridge with Dental Implants?
It’s quite common for a dentist to replace dental bridges with dental implants. The latter are often requested due to their more permanent nature. In addition, implants are often considered to be more faithful replications of one’s natural teeth, meaning that they often represent an upgrade to patients.
However, it’s important to consider whether or not you truly need an upgrade from your dental bridges. If your dental bridges appear and feel just fine, then it might not be worth the effort and money to replace them. The procedure that replaces your damaged teeth may ultimately be more invasive than just allowing your dental bridges to continue effectively doing their job.
If you want to have your dental bridge replaced with a dental implant, you need to have enough bone mass for the dental implant to take hold. If a patient doesn’t have enough bone mass to support the implant, a bone graft is possible. While it might take some time for the jawbone to build up enough mass to support a dental implant, the procedure is definitely possible.
Picking the Right Dentist
Finding a specialist with expertise in the area in which you are looking to receive treatment can save you a world of trouble when you’re trying to execute a procedure as complex as replacing dental bridges with dental implants.
For this reason, it’s good to do a bit of research into the dentist who might be executing this procedure, just to see if they have the expertise and the wherewithal to perform care to the level that you might be expecting. In particular, seeing that they have a successful history of performing the type of procedure you’re looking to get is paramount.
This kind of research can only serve to make your procedure and results that much better. Taking these kinds of precautions can only serve to make your final appearance and health in a stronger state.
The Best Dentist in LA
Dr. David Kao and the rest of his team are completely dedicated to providing the residents of LA the best in dentistry, whatever their request. If you have a dental issue that you would like to discuss with a consummate professional, contact us today to schedule an appointment with our periodontist and start looking and feeling your best today.
