Dental Implant to replace a dental bridge

[Pat]

Hi

I have had a dental bridge on my front teeth for the past 6 years after I lost one tooth in an accident. I decided to have a dental bridge because at the time thats what I could afford to have. The colour of the bridge does not match the rest of my teeth and I find it that food gets stuck underneath it and I constantly have to remove debris with a toothpick.

I have decided to have a dental implant to replace the dental bridge that I currently have. I just have a few questions regarding the change:

1. What happens to the teeth that currently hold the bridge, are they cut off from the false tooth and kept as they are or are they changed as well?

2. What will I have whilst I am waiting for the implant to take. I hate the thought of a denture and would want to avoid that if possible.

3. Will the dental implant also hold food underneath it or is it more easy to clean that the dental bridge that I currently have in place.

4. If I do decided to have a dental Implant to replace a dental bridge, would I need bone grafting as well?

[Dr Mohsen J. Esfahani]

Hi

Thank you for your post. Once the false tooth part of the bridge is removed, it becomes like two crowns and a gap in between the crowns where the false tooth used to be. In many instances the crowns will eventally have to be removed and replaced with new crowns and the gap replaced with an implant.

This is because once the false tooth is removed, the metal connection between the false tooth and the crowns becomes exposed and could create a cosmetic problem.

You could have a temporary bridge made whilst you are waiting for your implant to take rather than having a denture.

Usually dental implants do not trap food underneath them. With bridges if food traps underneath them, you may need to use a tepe brush to clean underneath them.

Some dental implants require bone grafting. You would need to see an implantologist for a consultation to determine if bone grafting is required or not.