First time I’ve confronted this question: I had to have a canine completely pulled, and I’m now walking around like a gap-toothed hillbilly. My dentist seems to be indicating that there are pros and cons to having a bridge put in vs. spending some extra money to have an implant, but what he says is all Chinese to me.
So wanted to ask you guys’ experiences: bridge or implant? Which did you do, and why, and do you have any regrets? (Assuming that one can afford either option.)
Don’t let your dentist convince you that an implant is necessarily permanent. I had a complete set of upper implants that somehow became infected, and had to be removed (at additional expense). I now have an upper denture that cost me less than one of the implants did.
Yikes panache. That sounds like a fairly horrific experience. Did the same dentist do the implants AND the extraction, because I’d have been having none of that “additional expense” part unless it required paying people who weren’t that dentist.
Koxinga, do you have chronic problems with your teeth, or was this a one-off kind of issue? That should be a factor in your choice. My teeth are just crap, they break if you look at 'em too hard, and I had to have two upper molars pulled last year. I’ll eventually get implants, but it’s a lengthy process. In my particular case, I had to have bone substitute added when the teeth were pulled, because I didn’t have sufficient bone density to support the eventual implants (a common issue for people with chronic tooth problem) which takes six months to set, then I have to have a sinus lift which will take some time to heal, then the screws, which have to be in for six months, then, finally, the implants.
Implants are not an option for the faint of heart. It also isn’t covered by my insurance, and it’s very unlikely to be covered by yours. Oh, and if you think I’m not a little scared about having all this surgery on my face, you’re mistaken.
A bridge is cheaper, your insurance will cover it, and it can be done right away. The most significant drawback of a bridge is that they have to damage the adjoining teeth to put it on, and afterward those teeth just sit under that bridge and rot (again, especially if you have chronic issues), and five years from now you’re back where you started, only with fewer teeth to work with.
Talk to your dentist, and don’t hesitate to make him explain it to you like you’re five. 
In the meantime, if the gap is really bothering you, talk to your dentist about Snap-On Smile. It’s a removable bridge that literally “snaps on” (really over) the adjoining teeth (without damaging them) and fills the gap. It’s obviously not as sturdy as a permanent bridge or implant, and I wouldn’t dive into the almonds with it, but otherwise you can eat anything with it in, and it’s much less conspicuous and more comfortable than any other sort of denture or flipper or crap they’ll try to push on you (seriously, do not let them try to give you a flipper, just don’t).
Good luck!
I went with the implant. It was done under “twilight surgery” and has now had the required seating time. I go back in two days time to have the final approval before the false tooth or whatever is screwed in.
I have had no difficulty to date. There would have been an issue with a bridge re other teeth support and decay eventually under a bridge.
It was expensive- not overly I don’t think- but I am satisfied I went that way.
I went with the implant and it’s been fabulous so far. My insurance covered about half of it.
I am currently making the same decision but I’m leaning towards implant. I have fragile enamel and my teeth crack while chewing wonder bread so the odds of the teeth supporting a bridge continuing to be around for the expected 5 yr life is risky. My gums and jaw are healthy so I expect little to no issue with the implant.
I had a bridge put in years ago; I needed a cap on a tooth that was next to a missing tooth I’d been living with for about ten years, and the dentist suggested that I might as well have a bridge as it wouldn’t cost much more than the cap, and would prevent possible future problems. In fact, he was a bit surprised that the gap hadn’t caused problems already.
In September I had to have a tooth pulled, and I’m going to have to have an implant put in because the tooth on one side is a wisdom tooth that came in crooked; the dentist said that trying to make a bridge that would fit over it would be difficult, if not impossible.
I’m 63, and I have the dubious honor of having both bridges and implants (hey, when I was a kid my family didn’t have a lot of money and a dentist was someone you went to when your teeth hurt - and the result was usually a pulled tooth).
Bridges work just fine when you’ve got an empty tooth spot surrounded on both sides by sound teeth (or roots of same). Implants cost a lot more (and involve a lot more work, or at least they did fifteen years ago), but work where there are no surrounding teeth to anchor a bridge to.
Once in, both work just fine.
I’m not sure why you’d go through the expense of an implant where a bridge was an option.
I’ve only had to undergo one minor (and painless) procedure with my implant since I had it put in. Last year the implant got wobbly somehow, and the dentist had to remove the false teeth part to get to the screws which hold them onto the drilled-in parts and tighten the screws. Yes, folks, old Sevenwood had a screw loose in his head. And his wife wasn’t a bit surprised.