Dental Implant or Dental Bridge?

When choosing how to replace a missing tooth, you’ll want to weigh all your options and decide which method from our New Braunfels dentist is best for you.  Perhaps you prefer a dental implant over a bridge, or vice versa. Both these solutions have their advantages and disadvantages.  Below are some specifics that may help you choose the right restoration for your smile.

Stand-Alone Restoration vs Natural Tooth Anchoring

A dental bridge requires that we reduce the size of the natural teeth on the sides of the gap. In doing so we make room for the restoration to slide over your teeth and align properly with the rest of your smile. In some cases, this isn’t an issue, but when you have healthy teeth that have never been worked on before, it’s a pity to have to sacrifice them for the bridge.

Needing to anchor a bridge to natural teeth is a huge reason why many people shy away from getting a bridge at all. An implant is a stand-alone restoration that doesn’t require anything to be done to your healthy, virgin teeth.

Insurance Payment

If you have dental insurance, then you may only be willing to do a procedure that your policy will pay towards.  Unfortunately, there are some dental plans that might still see dental implants as a cosmetic solution rather than a necessity.  For this reason, your plan may not be willing to pay to have your tooth replaced with an implant. However, a bridge is most often covered at about 50%.

We can check your benefits first, so that you know what your options are!

Help Making Your Decision

These are just a couple of things to consider when deciding between a dental implant or a dental bridge.  To get more specifics and help determining which solution is best for you, call Dr. Gomez of Sapphire Creek Dental in New Braunfels, TX.