People sometimes think implants are automatically superior, but that's not always true—especially if bone quality or healing is questionable.
That’s fair, but I do think folks sometimes underestimate how much bridges rely on the health of the neighboring teeth. I’ve seen a few cases where prepping those teeth for a bridge caused issues down the line—root canals, sensitivity, stuff like that. Implants aren’t perfect, but when they work, they leave the other teeth alone. Just something to weigh in the mix.
I totally get where you’re coming from about bridges—my aunt had one put in a few years ago, and the tooth next to the gap ended up needing a root canal not long after. She always wondered if it was because of the extra stress from the bridge or just bad luck. It’s tough to know for sure, but it definitely made her more cautious about dental work in general.
But then again, implants aren’t always a walk in the park either. My neighbor had an implant fail because her bone wasn’t strong enough, even though everything looked fine on the x-rays at first. She had to go through bone grafts and a lot of healing time, which was pretty rough at her age. I guess it really depends on the person’s health and how well they heal.
Do you think age should be a big deciding factor here? Like, if someone’s in their late 70s or 80s, is it worth going through the longer healing process for an implant, or is a bridge less hassle overall? I’ve heard some dentists say implants are still fine for older folks if their health is good, but others seem more cautious. Curious what people have seen with their own families or patients.
And then there’s cost... sometimes insurance covers bridges better than implants, which can sway the decision too. It feels like there’s no perfect answer—just a lot of trade-offs to weigh.
