Why is a dental implant a superior choice to a dental bridge?

Dental implants do not require any modification to the adjacent teeth. A dental bridge requires that the teeth on each side of a missing tooth, be ground down to make room for a crown supporting the missing tooth to be placed. In some cases the teeth that are ground down had no previous restorations or dental problems. Because the dental implant goes into the bone where the tooth is missing, the adjacent teeth are left untouched with the dental implant. A dental bridge also connects several teeth together making daily flossing much more difficult. The most common reason a bridge fails is because bacteria get under the bridge where they are hard to clean and one of the supporting teeth gets decay and fails. A dental implant supports a crown, just like a tooth, so brushing and flossing are just like your normal teeth. A dental implant is usually titanium and supports a gold or porcelain tooth, so there is no possibility of decay. Because a dental implant actually goes into the bone, it keeps the bone strong with the daily exercise it receives during chewing. Finally, a dental implant is naturally accepted by the body and has the best chance of lasting many years into the future.

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