Dental question-implants or bridge?

[FREE866]

Hi there.....anyone have any direct experience with implants or bridges?


I have a bridge on my upper left and have been pretty satisfied with cleaning process, overall feel etc


Now I had a crown on tooth on upper right and tooth underneath totally cracked so crown wont work so I'm faced with option of getting another bridge or going for implants. I've read a bit online about the pros and cons, but have found this board to be helpful with personal experiences on what is best option.


Thank you.

 

[mathjak107]

on top i only use a denture . no problem.

my bottom is 6 implants with a full piece that mounts to them .

if the bottom jaw is like oak , the top is like balsa wood .

the surgeon said don’t waste money with implants on the top .

the odds of rejection are high and the nasal cavity can easily be pierced

 

[GalaxyBoy]

I have two implants and have been very satisfied with them. No different than having real teeth. In fact, every time I go for a checkup the dentist raves about how well they are doing. I’ve lost track of how long I’ve had them but it’s probably around ten years.

Edit to add: one is the back molar on the bottom, the other is in the upper “corner.”

 

[FREE866]

on top i only use a denture . no problem.

my bottom is 6 implants with a full piece that mounts to them .

if the bottom jaw is like oak , the top is like balsa wood .

the surgeon said don’t waste money with implants on the top .

the odds of rejection are high and the nasal cavity can easily be pierced

Interesting...thank you

 

[VanWinkle]

I recently had 2 implants on the lower jaw. One went great and the other had to be extracted and redone due to bone at that location. So far the completed one is fine but I have limited experience with it.

 

[athena53]

There are a few discussions on implants here. I have 8 of them, done over the last 10+ years. Fortunately I can afford them- I vastly prefer them to bridges (don't like grinding down perfectly healthy teeth on either side, they can break after many years, decay can occur under each side) or crowns (decay can occur under crown, not detectable till it's too late, which was the reason for some of my implants).

I do have some up top, including my most recent. My oral surgeon, who's a rock star, uses 3-D panoramic X-rays and says my sinuses are "sky-high"- so plenty of space to put implant without piercing sinus cavity. All implants have integrated well with no problems.

 

[pacergal]

Implant on upper right back molar. I have had it about 10 years.
Husband has two implants on back molars and one spacer/bridge tooth in lower left front.
Neither one of us has had any problems so far.

 

[Teacher Terry]

I had my bridge for 20 years with no issues. Then my cpap machine rotted my teeth from the inside out so I have the same as Mathjak. I didn’t get the 4 on 4 implants on the top because it was 50k 8 years ago which included a sinus lift. The bottom cost 33k. However, it appears that you only need one implant so that’s much different.

 

[mn54]

what does your dentist recommend? what condition are the teeth in front and behind the tooth that needs to be extracted? are they virgin teeth or do they have large fillings or crowns on them? do you have any gum problems? are you a smoker? any health problems like diabetes or osteoporosis? the answers to these questions will help tell you what to do.

 

[FREE866]

what does your dentist recommend? what condition are the teeth in front and behind the tooth that needs to be extracted? are they virgin teeth or do they have large fillings or crowns on them? do you have any gum problems? are you a smoker? any health problems like diabetes or osteoporosis? the answers to these questions will help tell you what to do.

Thank you for this and all the other comments.


I see my dentist in 10 days for a follow up on the extraction to make sure healing is going as expected. Will decide next step from there.

The teeth behind and in front are virgin teeth so no issue there.
I'm a non smoker and my gums are good.
no health problems.

 

[mn54]

based on the given info, it would appear that an implant would be the better choice. did you have a bone graft when you had the extraction done? if not, you may need to have that done. talk to your dentist, see what they have to say.

 

[FREE866]

based on the given info, it would appear that an implant would be the better choice. did you have a bone graft when you had the extraction done? if not, you may need to have that done. talk to your dentist, see what they have to say.

I did not. Yeah, will check back in with this thread after I see him. Again, thank you everyone for the insight.

 

[athena53]

based on the given info, it would appear that an implant would be the better choice. did you have a bone graft when you had the extraction done? if not, you may need to have that done. talk to your dentist, see what they have to say.

Every one of mine had a bone graft placed at the same time as the implant. Definitely worth checking.

 

[FiveDriver]

Out of curiosity.....what is the relative difference in costs ??

I realize it varies by region, and by dental office. Just relatively speaking.....

Are Implants twice as much as a Bridge? 5x ? More ?

 

[5Miler]

I had an upper left molar (#14) extracted in the fall of 2022 and the implant placed in May of 2023. There was a bit of a delay as the implant would be very close to the sinus and I had a 5 week dive trip scheduled for April/May which wouldn't be a good combination. As it turned out, the implant was extremely close to the sinus cavity so it was a good call by the Oral Surgeon. I had the implant completed in May 2023 and the new tooth completed in August 2023 and no problems since. I am currently on another 5 1/2 week dive trip and no issues at all with the sinus. Might as well be my own tooth.

 

[Teacher Terry]

Bone grafts are common with upper teeth and usually not necessary on the bottom according to my oral surgeon.

 

[mathjak107]

over a ten year period i rejected three of the six bottom implants despite bone grafting and the coating of the implants with my own platelets .

i replaced three and so far so good

 

[athena53]

Out of curiosity.....what is the relative difference in costs ??

I realize it varies by region, and by dental office. Just relatively speaking.....

Are Implants twice as much as a Bridge? 5x ? More ?

I'm in the Kansas City area and implants have been running about $5K each. This one may end up higher; the oral surgeon charged $3,620, the anaesthesiologist charged another $630 and my dentist will have a charge for obtaining and installing the prosthetic tooth, which I know will be over $1,000. I get light sedation- in theory you could get a local but I don't really want to be conscious during that work even if it's painless.

 

[Irishgirlyc58]

I have an implant for my upper front tooth. Number 9. This was due to resorption-the tooth decides to disintegrate it's own roots and the tooth eventually falls out-same process baby teeth use-go figure.
To say that I like my implant would be exactly correct but I don't have anything to compare it to other than my real tooth. What I dislike about it is that it isn't flat on the inside like a real tooth. I'm tongue tied-yes it's a real thing! so it makes me lisp on some words and drives me nuts.
I have had it for about 10 years. If it fails at some point I'm not sure what I will do.

As luck would have it, a few years later I also had resorption on my bottom lower front tooth. It is an extremely small tooth and the endodontist almost didn't want to do a root canal-that's the first option to stop resorption which did not work on the upper tooth.
But he did and so far that has worked. This was about 5 years ago. If the root canal had failed I would not have replaced it-too dangerous for the perfectly good teeth beside it.

I think most people are fine with implants-just talk to your dentist about options. Go with what is right for your situation.
Good luck.

 

[FloridaJim57]

I have had both bridges and implants done and I can tell you implants are streets better. Going forward I would only have implants if the need arises. They honestly are like your own teeth.

 

[athena53]

I have had both bridges and implants done and I can tell you implants are streets better. Going forward I would only have implants if the need arises. They honestly are like your own teeth.

Same here and I'm darn grateful I can afford them.

 

[Healthy Lifestyle]

I have two implants that were placed top and bottom ( molars).
Very happy with results now ~12 years old.

 

[FREE866]

Update:
I talked to my dentist this morning as I had a few questions
He said due to my sinuses being “ very low” he is not suggesting implants and would opt for a bridge
Not sure I’m relaying this information correctly but that was gist of his assessment.

 

[Teacher Terry]

Update:
I talked to my dentist this morning as I had a few questions
He said due to my sinuses being “ very low” he is not suggesting implants and would opt for a bridge
Not sure I’m relaying this information correctly but that was gist of his assessment.

Yes many people need a sinus lift to get implants on top. Since you only need one versus an entire upper it’s not worth it. My bridge was permanent and it didn’t feel different than the rest of my teeth.

 

[FREE866]

Yes many people need a sinus lift to get implants on top. Since you only need one versus an entire upper it’s not worth it. My bridge was permanent and it didn’t feel different than the rest of my teeth.

I have a bridge on the upper left and I've been pleased with it. The reality is I don't really have a choice as it turns out, which frankly is a bit of relief. I don't have to agonize over what the "right thing to do" is.