This two-part article series discusses the benefits of dental implants over traditional teeth replacement techniques: conventional bridges and removable dentures.

Dental implants get an extremely unfair and unjustified rap for being expensive. Our strange perception of value has, in many cases, deemed this advanced and sophisticated teeth replacement technology “too expensive” and “unnecessary” especially with the availability of cheaper options. These options are traditional dental bridges and removable dentures, which can be used to address single tooth loss and a failing dentition respectively. Yet, if you take a closer look, you will see that these alternative technologies simply cannot rival the benefits and longevity of dental implants. Actually, they could end up costing you more in the long run!

In order to develop a deeper appreciation for the price of new teeth, we spoke to the dental implant specialists responsible for the replacement of missing teeth using this remarkable technology. They provided the following points to explain just why traditional bridges and removable dentures can counter-intuitively work out to be the more expensive teeth replacement choice.

Reasons Traditional Bridges Ultimately AREN’T Typically Cheaper Than Dental Implants

Traditional dental bridges are designed to take the place of a missing tooth crown. They consist of a series of ceramic crowns that have been bonded together. The two outer crowns are placed over the healthy teeth neighboring the empty tooth socket, enabling them to provide support for the middle crown, which is suspended in the gap. Here, it assumes the functional role of the missing tooth crown, but not the root.

Dental implants, on the other hand, are placed directly in the jawbone into a surgically prepared “sockets”. In this respect, a dental implant resumes the role of the root, supporting the crown of the replacement tooth or teeth and thus not damaging or compromising any existing neighboring teeth. In other words, dental implants are freestanding and, just like natural teeth; they rely almost exclusively on the jawbone for support.

So, upon closer inspection, we see that the real cost of new teeth with traditional bridges can include:

• Two perfectly healthy teeth: The supporting natural crowns have to be filed down to nubs in order to support the bridge. This means that the price you pay for new teeth can “cost you” two healthy teeth as well!

• The increased risk of further tooth loss: Traditional bridges tend to leave the supporting teeth at a greater risk of bacterial decay. Bacteria and food debris can also work their way underneath the replacement tooth crown, not only risking infection, but also discomfort and unpleasant symptoms, including bad breath and a persistent bad taste in the mouth.

• Atrophy of the underlying jawbone: The tooth roots play a vital role in maintaining jawbone health. When they go missing and are left without replacement (as is the case with bridges, which only replace the crowns), the jawbone can atrophy. This causes the bone level to drop around the site of the missing tooth or teeth, contributing to the destabilization of the entire dental arch and possibly leading to a greater risk of further tooth loss.

• Restoration and replacement: Unlike dental implants, traditional bridges tend to require frequent restoration and, typically every 10 to 15 years, replacement altogether. Dental implants can boast an impressive lifespan of 20 and 30 years or even longer if looked after properly! So while you might initially fork out less money for a bridge, in the long run, factoring into account repeat costs of restoration and replacement, dental implants almost always work out to be the smarter investment.

To add insult to injury, bridges don’t tend to feel natural, which causes patients no end to discomfort and self-consciousness.

Stay Tuned for Part 2

In Part 2 of this article series, we shall discuss the many reasons removable dentures may not ultimately be cheaper than dental implants as an option for new teeth.

This two-part article series discusses the benefits of dental implants over traditional teeth replacement techniques: conventional bridges and removable dentures.

Welcome back to our two-part article series on the price for new teeth using dental implants as opposed to traditional teeth replacement techniques, such as conventional bridges and removable partial and full dentures. In our previous article post, we looked at the price patients REALLY pay when they opt to replace single missing teeth with bridges instead of implants. This included the frequent need for restoration and replacement every 10 to 12 years, whereas implants can last decades without the need for any repeat dental work and costs.

In this article, the second installment of the series, we shall now look at how dental implants can actually work out to be less expensive than removable dentures in the long run.

Reasons Removable Dentures Ultimately AREN’T Typically Cheaper Than Dental Implants

Removable dentures are bulky, plastic false teeth that are custom made to fit over the gums and soft palate. They rely on their bulk to prevent them from slipping around while you eat and speak, but this in itself becomes a major source of discomfort. They also need to be taken out for cleaning after meals and at nighttime to allow your gums a chance to breathe and heal.

Dental implants can be used to provide people who have lost most or all of their natural dentition with a complete set of brand new teeth that are non-removable and feel, look and function like natural teeth. There are a number of techniques that can be used to achieve fixed oral rehabilitation using dental implants, but the most popular one is known as the “All-On-4”. This protocol can provide candidates with brand new teeth in as little as a single day with a single surgical procedure.

So, how is it that removable dentures, which are a couple of hundred dollars, can work out to be more expensive than dental implants, which carry a price tag in the thousands of dollars? Are you aware of the true cost of dentures?

• Dentures deteriorate jawbone health: Because removable dentures only replace the crowns of your missing teeth, they fail to maintain the health of the underlying jawbone (as was discussed in Part 1 of this article series). Over time, your dentures will need to be refitted and replaced to accommodate the changing shape of your jawbone. This is a repeat expense that you will need to cover for as long as you wear false teeth. So, when it comes to the price for new teeth, it’s not just one pair of dentures you’ll be buying.

• Dentures can cost you your youthful appearance: The loss of bone volume in the jaw can cause one’s facial appearance to age and become sunken-in around the mouth. You simply cannot put a price tag on your youth and beauty!

• With time, many denture wearers end up needing implants! Eventually, a denture wearer will have lost so much bone volume in their jaw that not even dentures will be able to provide them with a viable teeth replacement solution. At this juncture, they will likely have to undergo bone grafting and then dental implant surgery. It makes so much more sense to simple opt for dental implant in the first place!

These three points are bad enough, but a life with removable dentures is one that requires a constant investment in associated products such as anesthetic gels to numb the pain caused by ill-fitting dentures and adhesive strips to help prevent them from moving around. So, if you are facing the need for brand new teeth, consider the true long-term cost you will be paying for inferior teeth replacement technologies and make the right choice.