[Tiger72]

Well i booked an appointment last week for yesterday and the story isn't so good . I had a female dentist and when she looked at the tooth she was worries that there wasn't enough tooth left to hold the crown , but she would know more after taking out the filling . Now i was always worried about this as i knew there wasnt much tooth left as it was originally heavily filled plus with half it cracking and breaking off . Anyway after reemoving the filling she took an x-ray and to be fair she called another male dentist to have a look at it for another opinion (x-ray and tooth) and they came up with the opinion that with so little tooth left that yes maybe it could be crowned but that it might only last a few years and end up getting it bridged ,so it would be better to extract it and bridge it . So also as i have another tooth missing beside it get a 'four way bridge' or else get one 'implant' but seeing as the implant is nearly the same price as the the bridging im better off going for the bridging as i will gain another tooth .How long would a bridge last i wonder ???
Anyway i think that im better off to go back to my original dentist -even though i never said i was going for the cheaper option and also asking her what does she think ?? This could be a bit awkward but i feel that it has to be for my own peace of mind . I cant honestly say anything bad about the dentists yesterday - yes it is a bit different when there is someone new at your teeth because of the fact that i have has the same dentist for the last 20 odd years .

[helimachoptor]

Get an implant.

I'm sure one of the dentists will confirm that an implant is always better than a bridge.

[Tiger72]

Originally Posted by helimachoptor

Get an implant.

I'm sure one of the dentists will confirm that an implant is always better than a bridge.

Why so ? what are the differences between the two ?

[Oral Surgeon]

Originally Posted by Tiger72

Why so ? what are the differences between the two ?

A bridge is used to replace a missing tooth or teeth and supports this prosthetic tooth/teeth by using the adjacent natural teeth.
The bridge can use little "wings" to stick to these adjactent or more likely in your case the adjacent teeth will need to be prepared like a crown preparation to accept the bridge (see photo)

A bridge is fixed in place. Life span depends on the state of the spuupoting teeth, the way that the teeth were prepared, the quality of the labwork etc etc. Expect to get 10-15 years out of a good bridge (but much less if bad).
Downsides; you need to prepare adjacent teeth thereby compromising them somewhat. There is a gap under the fake tooth that may trap food, you cant floss...

An implant is a titanium screw that is placed in the jaw bone. After a period of healing, a crown is screwed or cemented on top.
Pros; it usually looks better, you dont need to touch adjacent teeth, you can floss, more cleansable, the screw should last a lifetime the crown may last 15-20 years.... Re doing the crown is usually a simple case of repacing screws and labwork..
cons; it involves a surgery (usually minor), not everyone is suitable, local anatomy may make things difficult, nerves in the lower jaw, the sinus in the upper jaw....
more expensive initially (but likely a lower cost per year than a bridge)...
(see pic)

[res ipsa]

Dude go see a proper dentist & get an orthodontic band & filling on the tooth. Cheap & cheerful.

[res ipsa]

Dude go see a proper dentist & get an orthodontic band & filling on the tooth. Cheap & cheerful.

[ovalu]

Originally Posted by helimachoptor

Get an implant.

I'm sure one of the dentists will confirm that an implant is always better than a bridge.

There are lots of cases where a bridge might make more sense than an implant, however every case is different