Long Island Dental Implants versus a Tooth Supported Bridge

Long Island Dental Implant to Replace a Missing Tooth

Replacing a Single Tooth

If you are missing a single tooth, one implant and a crown can replace it. A Long Island dental implant replaces both the lost natural tooth and its root.

What are the advantages of a single-tooth implant over a bridge?
A dental implant provides several advantages over other tooth replacement options. In addition to looking and functioning like a natural tooth, a dental implant replaces a single tooth without sacrificing the health of neighboring teeth. The other common treatment for the loss of a single tooth, a tooth-supported fixed bridge, requires that adjacent teeth be ground down to support the cemented bridge.

Because a dental implant will replace your tooth root, the bone is better preserved. With a bridge, some of the bone that previously surrounded the tooth begins to resorb (deteriorate). Dental implants integrate with your jawbone, helping to keep the bone healthy and intact.

In the long term, a single implant can be more esthetic and easier to keep clean than a bridge. Gums can recede around a bridge, leaving a visible defect when the metal base or collar of the bridge becomes exposed. Resorbed bone beneath the bridge can lead to an unattractive smile. And, the cement holding the bridge in place can wash out, allowing bacteria to decay the teeth that anchor the bridge.

How will the implant be placed?
First, the implant, which looks like a screw or cylinder, is placed into your jaw. Over the next two to six months, the implant and the bone are allowed to bond together to form an anchor for your artificial tooth. During this time, a temporary tooth replacement option can be worn over the implant site.

Often, a second step of the procedure is necessary to uncover the implant and attach an extension. This small metal post, called an abutment, completes the foundation on which your new tooth will be placed. Your gums will be allowed to heal for a couple of weeks following this procedure.

There are some implant systems (one-stage) that do not require this second step. These systems use an implant which already has the extension piece attached. Dr .Scharf will advise you on which system is best for you.

Finally, a replacement tooth called a crown will be created for you by your dentist and attached to the abutment. After a short time, you will experience restored confidence in your smile and your ability to chew and speak. Dental implants are so natural-looking and feeling, you may forget you ever lost a tooth.

What are the options for replacing a missing tooth on Long Island? | Denal Implants Long Island

Options for Replacing a Missing Tooth

When tooth is lost the individual faces many choices. The first choice is should I replace the missing tooth? The second is what is the best way to replace it? In making these decisions there are many factors to consider and research data to be evaluated.

There are three basic ways to replace missing teeth.

These include:

1) Removable partial dentures
2) Tooth supported bridges and
3) Implant supported teeth.

Removable partial dentures have metal clasps that clip onto teeth to hold the device in the mouth. Patients need to take these in and out for cleaning after eating.

Tooth supported bridges rely on the adjacent teeth for support. The teeth next to the missing tooth space are ground down and the bridge is cemented onto them. This bridge does not come in and out and relies on the integrity of the adjacent teeth for support.




Dental implants. The final method of tooth replacement is the dental implant, which is a replacement for the root of a tooth. The implant is placed where the root of the missing tooth used to be. The replacement root is then used to attach a replacement tooth.

Tooth replacement options is continued.

Long Island Dental Implant FAQ

Dr. David Scharf (631) 661-6633 a Periodontist in Suffolk County has a dental implant FAQ


What are dental implants?

Beginning in the 1950s researchers observed that the metal titanium, and some other materials, formed a very strong bond to surrounding bone, a process termed "osseointegration."

After years of careful research and study, dental implants (titanium cylinders placed into the jawbone to support replacement teeth) were refined with high success rates. There are now patients who have had implant supported teeth for more than twenty-five years.

Thus osseointegration began a revolution in dentistry, and at last, an answer to the many problems associated with missing teeth.

Why should you consider dental implants?

If you, like millions of Americans, have lost one or more teeth, you may be all too familiar with the unpleasant consequences. For many, missing teeth lead to an unattractive smile, embarrassment from loose dentures, and pain or difficulty with eating.

Traditional dentistry can provide replacements for missing teeth using bridges, removable partials and dentures; however, each of these has its problems.

Bridgework usually involves altering natural teeth to provide a stable foundation for support of replacement teeth. Partials and dentures can, at times, be very unstable leading to denture sores or speech difficulties.

Another little known problem associated with tooth loss is a process known as "atrophy," a shrinking of the jawbone that can progress relentlessly over the years. Bone atrophy not only affects jaw function, but can cause adverse facial cosmetic changes.

Because of the remarkable advances in dentistry in recent years, dental implants offer an effective solution to many of these problems.

How are Dental Implant Placed?

Dental implants are usually completed in two phases.

Phase #1 is the actual implant placement, a process generally performed in the office with local anesthesia or light sedation to help make the patient more comfortable. Using precise, gentle surgical techniques, the implants are placed into the jawbone for 3 to 6 months while osseointegration (bonding to bone) takes place. This helps ensure a strong, solid foundation for replacement teeth. During this time, temporary bridges or dentures may be used to minimize any cosmetic or chewing inconvenience.

Phase #2 involves creating and attaching the new tooth or teeth to the anchored implant(s) in your jaw. Dental implants can replace a single tooth, several teeth or complete dentures. Your dentist can recommend the best choice for you.

What are some of the benefits of dental implants?

Dental implants are an effective, safe and predictable solution to the problems resulting from missing teeth. Many patients report exciting benefits from dental implants, such as:
• Replacement teeth look, feel and function like natural teeth
• Improved taste and appetite
• Improved cosmetic appearance
• The ability to chew without pain or gum irritation
• Improved quality of life

One additional and very important benefit can be the reduction or elimination of bone atrophy or shrinkage, commonly associated with loss of teeth.

Dental implants are truly a revolution, solving an age old problem safely and predictably. Implant dentistry can change the smiles and lives of millions for years to come.

Dental Implant Long Island | Tooth Replacement Options

When tooth is lost the individual faces many choices. The first choice is should I replace the missing tooth? The second is what is the best way to replace it? In making these decisions there are many factors to consider and research data to be evaluated.

There are three basic ways to replace missing teeth.

These include:

1) Removable partial dentures
2) Tooth supported bridges and
3) Implant supported teeth.

Removable partial dentures have metal clasps that clip onto teeth to hold the device in the mouth. Patients need to take these in and out for cleaning after eating.

Tooth supported bridges rely on the adjacent teeth for support. The teeth next to the missing tooth space are ground down and the bridge is cemented onto them. This bridge does not come in and out and relies on the integrity of the adjacent teeth for support.

Dental implants. The final method of tooth replacement is the dental implant, which is a replacement for the root of a tooth. The implant is placed where the root of the missing tooth used to be. The replacement root is then used to attach a replacement tooth.

Should I Replace a Missing Tooth?

There are a number of studies reporting on survival of teeth next to missing tooth spaces. These studies look at the survival of the teeth next to the missing tooth space in cases where the missing tooth is replaced and the missing tooth is not replaced. Studies show that there is a significant loss of adjacent teeth if the missing tooth is not replaced. Tooth replacements with fixed bridges attached to teeth improves the survival of the teeth compared to no replacement.

When removable partial dentures are used to replace missing teeth, the failure of the adjacent teeth is much higher than if there was no replacement, or if the replacement was with a tooth supported bridge. Patients who do not replace missing teeth may experience shifting of teeth, spaces opening between teeth (resulting in food impaction), collapse of the bite, alterations in their chewing ability, TMJ pain, and trauma to the remaining teeth. People sometimes don’t replace teeth that are “in the back” of the mouth because no one sees them. The back teeth are needed to support the bite and grind up food. We can all swallow food that is not chewed thoroughly, but this compromises the nutrition we extract from our diet. When enough back teeth are lost the front teeth can start to flare or become “buck teeth” as they carry forces in excess of what they were designed for.

Let’s look at some of the data from scientific studies that look at replacing missing teeth.

VA Medical Center Longitudinal Study Shugars JADA 1998

19% of adjacent teeth failed if the space was untreated
10% failed if the space was treated with a tooth supported bridge
30% failed if the space was treated with a removable partial denture

Permanente Dental Associates looked at 317 patients who wore tooth supported fixed bridges for an average of 6.7 years and removable partial dentures for an average of 4.2 years. Their findings:

13% of adjacent teeth failed if the space was untreated
7% failed if treated with a tooth supported bridge
17% failed if treated with a removable partial denture

Truman Medical Center, 8.6 years tooth supported bridge and 7 years observation for removable partial dentures

12% of adjacent teeth failed if untreated
7% failed if treated with a tooth supported bridge
22% failed if treated with a removable partial denture

In conclusion, we can see the following:

• There is significant loss of adjacent teeth (ranging from 12%-19%) if the missing tooth is not replaced.
• Tooth supported bridges improve the survival rate, with abutment tooth loss from 7%-10% at 6.7 and 8.6 years.
• Removable partial dentures increase abutment tooth failure rate ranging from 17% to 30% at 4.2 to 7 years.
• There is no significant difference in the statistics of the various studies.

We said earlier that there are three basic ways Here is the rest of the article on Dental Implant Long Island