Which is better – crowns or dental implants? This is one of the popular questions from patients with bad teeth.
The question of which crown or implant is better is most often asked by patients with severely damaged dental units that require removal or long-term treatment. If the issue of removal is resolved, then a dental bridge is installed for the patient to restore the tooth, in which two crowns are supporting and one is replacing the formed gap. Let’s take a closer look at the differences and advantages of a crown, dental bridge and a single implant.
When Crowns are Better?
The crown is installed if more than 50% of the tooth is destroyed or affected by caries, while the root is not damaged, there are no fractures of the tooth that violate its stability. In some cases, treatment can take a long time. With a lesion of the pulp, the period can be about 1-2 months.
In the case of installing a crown on his own ground tooth, the patient retains a natural load on the roots of the teeth, the metabolism inside the bone tissue. Despite the fact that a sharpened tooth does not have the same protective function as healthy teeth, a crown can last an average of 5-8 years. It is important that it is made of high-quality materials, does not injure the gums after installation, be hermetically fixed, and during the treatment all procedures were carried out carefully, the source of infection is completely eliminated. In this case, the patient can expect a longer service life of the crown.
Dental Bridge With Crown
If the therapeutic treatment is not able to lead to the preservation of the tooth, then it is removed in order to eliminate the source of infection. In this case, the patient has a choice between a dental bridge and a single implant. The cost of a dental bridge for the restoration of one tooth is much cheaper than dental implantation. The appearance is natural, it does not stand out when talking and smiling, even during the restoration of the front teeth. However, it is worth noting a number of disadvantages that appear over time:
- Healthy teeth are ground for the installation of abutment crowns;
- The ground teeth deteriorate or loosen over time, which leads to the need to remove them and make a new bridge with a large number of crowns;
- The service life of a dental bridge is about 5 years. During operation, the bridge is changed due to destruction or the appearance of signs of loosening of the abutment teeth, the appearance of caries under the crowns;
- When installed on cement, the adhesive is eroded, which leads to peeling and loss of the structure; to control the reliability of fixation, it is necessary to take X-ray pictures;
- After removing the dental bridge, the abutment teeth are often re-sharpened in order to remove the cementing compound, smooth out tissue damage, after treatment;
- When caries appears on the prepared teeth, the patient does not feel pain, since there is no dental nerve, so the disease progresses until more serious complications appear and the disease spreads to other tissues inside the jaw.
When Dental Implants are Better?
Installing a dental implant in place of an extracted tooth allows you to save adjacent teeth from turning, and also puts stress on the bone tissue. Thanks to implantation, the atrophic process does not progress, the risk of loss of adjacent teeth is reduced.
The service life of the installed implant depends on a number of conditions, which include compliance with hygiene requirements, regular teeth cleaning at the dentist, the quality of the metal from which the implant is made, the skill of the implantologist, and the presence of bad habits (smoking, drinking alcohol). Budget implant models have more impurities, which can cause metal allergy, which manifests itself in 5% of patients, so the average service life is 10-15 years.
Medium-price implants are manufactured using more advanced technology. During processing, more attention is paid to cleaning metals and increasing biocompatibility and hydrophilicity. Some manufacturers enhance these properties by spraying with fluoride or other substances that enhance bone cell growth. Their service life ranges from 15 to 20 years. Premium implants last from 20-25 years. Manufacturers use highly refined titanium, carry out quality control and give a lifetime warranty on their products. Thus, in the event of a breakdown or repair of an expensive product, patients can re-treat for free if they comply with the terms of the guarantee. This factor in the long term is a strong argument in favor of choosing better quality products.
The disadvantages of implantation are the high cost and contraindications to surgical operations, the long waiting period for engraftment, which is about 4-6 months. There are several methods of placing implants – classic, one-stage and one-step. Each of them has its own subtleties and requirements for the state of the bone tissue. Nevertheless, the general contraindications for any surgical intervention are the same, they include: diseases of the blood, cardiovascular and respiratory systems, autoimmune diseases, disorders of tissue regeneration processes.
An experienced specialist will help you choose the most suitable option for dental restoration, who will give an informed decision based on health data.
