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Until recently, the best way to replace a missing tooth was with the use of a fixed bridge. Teeth on either side of the missing tooth are crowned or “capped” and the replacement tooth is connected to the two crowns. With the advent of implants, a better treatment has been made available. An implant is a cylinder, usually made of titanium metal, which is placed into the jawbone where the tooth is absent. After a period of healing, a metal post is threaded into the implant and a crown placed onto the post. There are several advantages to this treatment. First, the teeth adjacent to the space that might not otherwise need any treatment do not need to be crowned. Second, because the implant is not connected to the adjacent teeth, it can be cleaned with dental floss just like the other teeth. Use of dental floss with a fixed bridge requires the use of a floss threader to get the floss under the replacement tooth. Third, there is less potential future liability. With a fixed bridge, any problem with either of the crowned teeth or the replacement tooth may require the replacement of the entire bridge. In the case of an implant, one is dealing with three separate entities that can be treated individually. Although there are cases where a fixed bridge may be the better option, usually implants make more sense.
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