In this article, Part of determining what type of tooth replacement is right for you is figuring out which prosthetic best fits your budget. While it may seem more affordable to stick with a bridge or dentures, the truth is that while these restorations may be less expensive up front, they can often carry a higher long-term cost than permanent solutions like dental implants.

Here’s why if you need to replace one or more teeth on a budget, dental implants may save you more money in the long run.

An Ounce of Prevention

When you’re missing even just one tooth, it can cause a ripple effect of oral health problems. That gap in your arch won’t just make it harder for you to chew properly, but it can also cause your remaining teeth to shift, pushing your bite out of alignment. This can in turn cause pain, difficulty chewing, and challenges keeping your teeth and gums clean. Unfortunately, all of these can lead to costly repairs in the form of orthodontics, future tooth loss, cavities, and infections down the road.

Furthermore, the lack of tooth roots from your missing tooth means your jawbone is missing important stimulation that keeps your surrounding teeth and bones healthy. In fact, even if you wear dentures or a bridge, your jawbone will still experience deterioration that could eventually require a bone graft.

With dental implants, you not only close the gaps in your arches, but you also provide necessary stimulation to keep your jawbones and remaining teeth healthy and strong, saving you money on costly procedures later.

Manageable Maintenance

In addition to preventing future oral health problems, dental implants are a lot easier and more affordable to maintain than other types of prosthetics. Unlike dentures, they do not come out of your mouth for cleaning, so there’s no need for special soaks or cleansing pastes.

Furthermore, because they don’t alter their shape or stop fitting as the shape of your gums change like they do with dentures, you won’t need to worry about messy adhesives, nor will they require an expensive reline procedure to repair an improper fit.

Dental bridges are a bit different in that they stay attached to two abutment teeth, but they still need to be replaced every ten years or so. They do, however, require you to have two healthy teeth to act as anchors in the first place, and once your dentist has removed enamel to make them anchor teeth, you must always have them covered with a crown going forward for their own protection. This means that even if you upgrade to dental implants later, you’ll still need to cover the abutments with crowns, which then must be replaced every ten or so years as well.

Time is Money

Finally, don’t discount the value of your time. With dental implants, not only does keeping your smile clean and healthy take less time each day, you also needn’t worry about spending time on frequent trips to the dentist to have them adjusted like you would with dentures or, to have your bridge repaired.

Your dental implants are designed to last a lifetime. While you still may need to replace a crown if it becomes damaged, this is a rare occurrence, making the time savings a major bargain over other restorations.

Remember, while the up front cost of dental implants may be a bit higher than dentures or bridges, the time and money you will save by upgrading to these prosthetics makes them well worth the price tag. To learn more about if dental implants are right for you, speak to your dentist today!

About Dr. Hutto

Dr. Dean V. Hutto has more than three decades of experience helping Baytown patients smile confidently and pain-free. He has taken numerous continuing education courses at some of the most prestigious dental schools in the country, including the Misch International Implant Institute.

If you are missing one or more permanent teeth and would like to learn more about how dental implants can save your time, money, and of course your beautiful smile, please schedule a consultation with Aesthetic Family Dentistry today by visiting our website or calling us at 281-422-8248.we will discuss…