When a tooth is missing, there are three main treatment options – a denture, a bridge or an implant. The dental implant is the most modern, most comfortable and most minimally invasive method. In this series of pages Dr. Ralev shows how the decision whether to place an implant is made in the clinic.
What are the options for replacing a missing tooth?
If you have a missing tooth or teeth and need to decide how to replace them, the choice is between a denture, a bridge and an implant. All three options are good – they differ mainly in the eating comfort they provide and in the cost of treatment.
There is a group of patients who choose the one bad option – not to replace their lost teeth at all. This is their personal decision and, however wrong it may be, we cannot oppose it. Such patients must be prepared for the future treatment to be many times more serious, more difficult, more expensive and with a worse long-term prognosis.
Why do patients hesitate about implants?
The information on the internet about dental implants is extremely varied and at times even misleading. This confuses patients who are starting to enter the vast thicket of dental implantology.
In our practice we increasingly see patients who say: “Doctor, I don’t want implants, because I have read that they get rejected and have problems” or “I am afraid of having them placed”. In this way they themselves reject the most modern, most comfortable and most minimally invasive method of replacing lost teeth.
A large share of these patients have excellent conditions for implants, and the implants placed for them would last many years in function. They refuse because of lack of knowledge or a wrongly formed first impression of implant treatment.
What will you learn in this series?
We have prepared a special article that reveals in detail the important points of implant treatment. It is a brief extract of our knowledge in the field of dental implantology – the basis on which we decide whether to offer the patient dental implants or to rule them out as an option.
In the following pages you will peek behind the curtain of dental implantology and see first-hand how we decide on placing an implant.
Frequently asked questions
What are the options for replacing a missing tooth?
Three main treatment options – a denture, a bridge or an implant. All three are good and differ mainly in the eating comfort they provide and the cost of treatment.
Are dental implants rejected?
Patients often come with the worry that implants get rejected and cause problems. A large share of them have excellent conditions for implants, and the implants placed for them would last many years in function. That is why we have prepared a series of pages explaining how we decide whether to offer an implant.
What happens if I do not replace my missing tooth?
It is the patient’s personal choice, but they must be prepared for the future treatment to be many times more serious, more difficult, more expensive and with a worse long-term prognosis.