The loss of teeth doesn’t only affect our smile and how we eat but it also lowers our self confidence and our interaction with our friends and family. While looking for ideal replacement of teeth one comes across the terms "bridges" and "implants".
A crown (commonly called as ‘cap’) is kind of a covering on a single tooth. If there are 3 are more crowns which are joined together they form bridge. In this case the middle crown (pontic) is used for the replacement of the missing tooth and the two other crowns (retainer) are fixed on to adjacent teeth for support.
On the contrary an implant prosthesis is completely different. An implant is basically a root analog. It is placed surgically inside the bone and mimics the tooth root in natural teeth. Using some attachments a crown is fixed to the implant to replace the missing tooth.
The differences between the two are:
- In an implant prosthesis the tooth and root are both replaced where as in a bridge only the tooth part is replaced.
- In an implant the support for the prosthetic tooth is derived from the implant, but in a bridge the support is derived from the adjacent teeth.
- Adjacent teeth need to be involved in case of bridge not for implants.
- Implant have a longer life than bridges but are generally costlier.
- Both require regular maintenance but in case of implants some specialized instruments may be needed.
- Implant procedure has a surgical component as a result it may not be possible in some cases
- Treatment time is much lesser in bridges(usually 15 to 30 day) than in implants (usually 4 to 7 months). Case complexity can increase the duration in both methods