implants vs bridgework..... advice please!

[olivia41]

Hi, would appreciate any advice from dentists/nurses/patients.....had a fall and basically knocked out my incisor - options are either to have an implant (around £2,000) or for half that, have bridgework - really not sure which one to have.... saw a lovely dentist who explained both to me, but obviously final decision is down to me.... anyone have any experience of this? Just don't like the idea of having all the work done to surrounding teeth for the bridge and dentist said you can get problems more often with this type of work than implants. However, is hard to tell if I've done any permanent damage to my front tooth yet (didn't chip it, but took a hard knock, so is there a chance it will "die" as well, in which case I'd need a second implant which I can't afford!! Thanks!

If you can afford the implant I'd say have the implant. I lost my front right tooth when it mysteriously "died" (internal reabsorption) about six years ago (later I was told that this was probably due to a school gym-club sustained trauma 30 years earlier!). I got a bridge which cost me a lot as I went for the best finish (what with it being right at the front). Within two years the tooth next to it died as well and the one next to that needed a root canal. I was told at this point that the "affordable" option was a bridge from eye-tooth to eye-tooth or I could go for implants. By this time I'd lost bone from where the first dead tooth had been removed so I needed a bone graft as well which wasn't unpleasant and it seems to have worked really well but that meant more expense!!! Anyway now I have two implants and I'm really happy (if really poor)

4nomore.... you really have been through the mill!! I read your post with interest, am now swaying towards the implant!! I suppose you can't put a price on your own health and for me, self-esteem (am very conscious of my teeth), so thank you for your advice. Have just under a week to decide....... (- a tooth)!