A tooth needs to be extracted if it is too much damaged and can not be repaired from tooth filling, or root canal treatment. A tooth can get damaged from cavity, decay, infection, fracture, or broken in an accident. This causes pain in the tooth.
The tooth is extracted to remove the pain or infection. If the tooth is not extracted, then it will continue to pain, or the infection may spread to other nearby teeth and gums.
Several cases of extracted or missing tooth are shown below. Dental implant is used to fill the empty space left after tooth extraction.
If the space left after tooth extraction is not filled, then it will cause other teeth to fall soon. The empty space can be filled by either: a dental implant, or a dental bridge or a denture. Dental implant is the best treatment among all these treatments.
After the tooth extraction, the nearby teeth slowly shift towards the empty space to fill the gap left by the extracted tooth. This creates small gaps among all remaining teeth. Very small particles of food gets stuck in these gaps. It causes cavities and decay in those teeth after some time.
All these effects result in extraction of nearby teeth very soon.
An extracted tooth can be replaced in 3 ways:
A dental implant is an artificial tooth that works like a real tooth. When a natural tooth is extracted, a dental implant is inserted in the space left by the extracted tooth. It is the best solution for a missing tooth.
A dental implant is made of two parts: a metal screw and a tooth crown. The metal part of the dental implant is inserted in the jaw bone. After that, a tooth crown is placed on the top of the dental implant.
The metal screw is made of Titanium metal. Titanium is the strongest metal. Therefore, the strength of a dental implant is very high. Dental implant has a life of 15+ years.
Read more about dental implant here.
A dental implant is the best option to replace a lost tooth. However, there are cheaper alternatives to a dental implant: a dental bridge and a partial denture.
A dental bridge replaces the missing tooth with a fixed fake tooth. It is placed in the mouth with the support of two teeth that are
adjacent to the missing tooth. But the 2 adjacent teeth are trimmed to support the fake tooth. So, it weakens 2 healthy teeth to fill space of a missing tooth.
Read more about dental bridge here.
A partial denture replaces a missing tooth with a removable fake tooth. A denture is not recommended as an alternative to a dental
implant because it does not permanently fill the gap left by a missing tooth, and this causes other teeth to fall soon. Read more on the effects of missing teeth here.
Read more about denture here.
The cost to replace one missing tooth is:
Treatment |
Cost in USA |
Cost outside of USA |
---|---|---|
Dental Implant | $ 3450 | $ 350 |
Dental Bridge | $ 3780 | $ 270 |
Partial Denture | $ 90 | $ 10 |
Question: Is a dental implant surgery painful?
Answer: No, it is a completely painless procedure.
Question: Do you use anesthesia to reduce pain?
Answer: Yes, anesthesia is used to numb the mouth. You will be fully awake during the treatment and you will not feel any pain in the mouth.
Question: How many days are required for the complete dental implant surgery and the tooth crown procedure?
Answer: The complete dental implant surgery and the tooth crown procedure takes 2 visits of 4-5 days with a gap of 2 months in between the visits.
Question: How long does a dental implant last?
Answer: A dental implant lasts for 15+ years.
Question: What if I do not get a dental implant?
Answer: If the empty space left by an extracted tooth is not filled by a dental implant, then it will cause other teeth to fall soon. See the effects of a missing tooth on other teeth here.
Question: Is a tooth crown compulsory after inserting a dental implant?
Answer: Yes, a tooth crown is compulsory after inserting a dental implant.
Question: Does a tooth after the dental implant procedure look like a natural tooth?
Answer: Yes, it looks like a natural tooth because the color of tooth crown matches with the color of your other natural teeth.