Implant, Bridge or Denture?
What each option demands of your remaining teeth and jaw, how long each takes, what they cost in Broughty Ferry, and how to choose between them.
Which Is the Better Way to Replace a Single Missing Tooth: Implant, Bridge or Denture?
Where the neighbouring teeth are sound and your priority is a fixed tooth with the longest life, an implant is generally the best option, from £2,605 including the crown here in Broughty Ferry. A bridge is faster and also fixed, but it relies on the teeth either side for support, and a conventional one costs £695 for each unit. An acrylic partial denture, from £565, is the cheapest to begin with, but it is removable and will usually need replacing at some point.
What Each Option Actually Is
Implant. Into the jaw, where the old root sat, goes a titanium post. The bone knits to it over around two to three months, and then a crown is attached to it, by screw or by cement. The teeth on each side are left alone.
Bridge. A replacement tooth is suspended across the gap and anchored to the teeth next to it. With a conventional bridge the neighbouring teeth are trimmed and crowned, with the false tooth joined to them in one piece. A resin-retained bridge, also called a Maryland bridge, is kinder to the supports: a slim metal or ceramic wing is glued onto the rear surface of one neighbouring tooth, with little or no drilling.
Denture. A plate that comes in and out, with the replacement tooth mounted on it, kept in position by small clasps hooked over other teeth, or simply by suction. It is removed for cleaning and, for most people, while they sleep.
How They Compare
| Feature | Implant | Bridge | Denture |
|---|---|---|---|
| Can it come out? | No | No | Yes |
| What happens to other teeth | None | Neighbours trimmed down (conventional) or one of them carries a bonded wing (resin) | Clasps rest on other teeth |
| Preserves the bone | Yes | No | No |
| Typical lifespan | The implant can last decades if looked after; the crown may need renewing | Usually 10 to 15 years | Usually 5 to 10 years |
| Time from start to finish | Around 3 to 4 months | Around 2 to 3 weeks | Around 3 to 5 weeks |
| Cost, from | £2,605 | £695 per unit | £565 |
Not Sure Which Way to Go?
All three options are covered at one free consultation in Broughty Ferry, with costs and timings put in writing.
Where an Implant Is the Obvious Choice
When the teeth flanking the gap are healthy and have no fillings, an implant is usually what we suggest first, simply because it leaves them untouched. It is also the only one of the three that keeps feeding chewing load into the jaw, so the ridge and gum hold their shape instead of hollowing over the years. For front teeth, where any dip in the gum line shows when you smile, that is a real advantage.
What you give up is time, and you need a minor procedure. It is done with the area numbed, with IV sedation available if you want it, and then there is a healing wait before the crown goes on. A CT scan (£160) is needed for planning, and occasionally a bone graft. An implant cannot decay, but the gum around it still needs daily cleaning and routine hygiene visits.
Where a Bridge Wins
If the teeth next to the gap are already heavily filled or crowned, preparing them for a bridge sacrifices very little, and within a fortnight or so you have a fixed tooth, with no surgery at all. For a front gap with a strong, untouched neighbour, a resin-retained bridge, at £750 for each unit, is the conservative route and involves almost no drilling, although it can occasionally debond.
On the minus side, a conventional bridge removes sound tooth from the supports, cleaning underneath it is fiddly, and the bone below the false tooth carries on shrinking, so a small space can appear beneath it over time. And if one of the supporting teeth gives up, the bridge as a whole usually needs replacing.
Where a Denture Fits
Dentures come into their own for people with teeth missing in several different places, for those for whom surgery is not sensible right now, and for anyone whose decision rests mainly on cost. A modern acrylic denture can look remarkably natural, and for a larger gap a cobalt chrome framework (£1,200) gives something slimmer and stronger.
A denture also works well as an interim measure: it keeps the space while you make up your mind, and it is what most patients wear over the gap while an implant is integrating. Its limitations are that it moves slightly, can feel bulky, and does nothing to stop bone loss, which means it gradually loosens and needs a reline (£110) or a new one.
The Longer View
On day one the denture costs least and the implant most. Over a ten or twenty year span the picture can look different. A three-unit conventional bridge works out at roughly £2,085 and might need remaking once or twice, plus treatment for any support tooth that fails. A denture will need relining and eventually replacing. A healed implant mostly asks for cleaning and routine examinations, although the crown on it may need renewing eventually.
Every fee appears in our implant cost guide.
Deciding Together
Your free consultation starts with a look at the gap, the teeth next to it, your gums and the way your bite comes together. Where an implant is realistic, we take a CT scan. We then walk through all three options with their costs, timings and risks, and tell you which one we would choose if it were our own mouth, and why. Sometimes the candid answer turns out to be a bridge or a denture, or simply leaving a back gap for now. The plan goes home with you, and there is no pressure to decide on the spot.
Questions
This guide is general information, not a diagnosis. A dentist needs to examine you to say what is right for your teeth.