Many people encounter a situation where at some point in their lives a tooth breaks at the level of the gum or deeper. In this situation, there is nothing left to do but to book an appointment with dentist, who must prescribe further treatment. Dentists often take the simpler, but not always the best solution – to extract the tooth and place an implant. Why not the best solution? What is better: keeping the tooth or install an implant? Let’s look into it.
What is better: save a tooth or get an implant?
To answer the question of what decision is better, you need to understand how the human body and the human teeth in particular are constructed. A human tooth is held in the jaw by special tissues called the periodontium. By keeping the tooth, we preserve these tissues, which in turn nourish the bone tissue. Bone tissue is responsible for the aesthetic appearance of the jaw and gums.
By extracting a tooth and placing an implant we stop this nourishment and over time it leads to bone resorbtion, so you will need an additional bone augmentation surgery (on average after 10-15 years). Also the implant will need to be replaced and a new one installed – this is an additional expense.
Important: Remember that not everyone and not all implants take root in all situations. This is influenced by many factors: the individual characteristics of the human body, lifestyle, stresses, etc. Therefore, it is always more reliable to retain a tooth, if possible.
If it has been decided to save a tooth and, for example, place a dental crown, you gain time and money, because placing a dental crown is cheaper than placing implants and the crown will last for 10-15 years. Only after that time you will need to have an implant installation. So you can gain up to 30 years before your first bone augmentation procedure. You’ll agree that’s a lot of time.
In conclusion:
An experienced dentist will always recommend saving a tooth. With modern technology and advances in dental guided surgery, implant placement is becoming easier, but the patient does not always benefit from such a decision.
Before making a final decision, consult with several dentists and choose the one who can save the tooth root.