Replacing One Tooth
An honest comparison of the three options, with what each costs at St Vincent Smile.
Should I Replace a Missing Tooth with an Implant, a Bridge or a Denture?
An implant replaces the tooth and its root without touching the neighbouring teeth and lasts the longest, but costs the most up front and needs minor surgery. A bridge is fixed but relies on the teeth either side being filed down to carry it. A denture is the least expensive but removable. At St Vincent Smile in Glasgow, a single implant and crown starts from £2,775, a conventional bridge from £695 per unit (so around three times that for a three-unit bridge) and an acrylic denture from £565. Over twenty years the implant is often the cheapest of the three as well as the one that feels most like a tooth.
Side by Side
| Feature | Implant | Bridge | Denture |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fixed or removable | Fixed | Fixed | Removable |
| Affects neighbouring teeth | No | Yes, they're filed down to support it | Clasps rest on them |
| Protects the jawbone | Yes, it acts like a root | No | No |
| Feels like | A tooth | A tooth, mostly | A plate in the mouth |
| Typical lifespan | Decades with good care | Often 10 to 15 years | 5 to 10 years |
| Time to finish | 3 to 4 months | 2 to 3 weeks | 3 to 5 weeks |
| Fee, from | £2,775 | £695 per unit | £565 |
All three replace a tooth. The real difference is what each one asks of the teeth and bone around it.
What Each One Actually Is
- An implant is a small titanium post placed in the jawbone where the root was. The bone grows onto it over 8 to 12 weeks, then a crown is fitted on top. Nothing is done to the teeth either side.
- A conventional bridge is a row of joined crowns: a false tooth in the middle carried by crowns on the teeth either side, which have to be filed down to take them. A resin-retained bridge instead glues a wing to the back of one neighbour, with little or no drilling, and suits front teeth that don't take heavy loads.
- A denture is a removable plate with the missing tooth on it, held by clasps on the other teeth or by suction. It comes out for cleaning and at night.
Not Sure Which Suits You?
Book a free consultation and we'll go through all three.
When an Implant Is the Best Choice
When the neighbouring teeth are healthy, when you'd like the closest thing to the tooth you lost, and when you'd rather not come back to the same gap in ten years. An implant is the only option that keeps the bone where the tooth was, which matters for the look of the gum and for any treatment later. It also doesn't decay, though the gum around it needs the same care as any tooth.
It's a slower route: the implant needs 8 to 12 weeks to bond with the bone before the crown goes on, and a front tooth usually needs a temporary in the meantime. And it's minor surgery, done under local anaesthetic, with IV sedation if you'd prefer.
When a Bridge Is a Good Choice
When the teeth either side already have large fillings or crowns, so preparing them does little extra harm, and when you want a fixed result quickly. A bridge can be finished in two or three weeks. For a single front tooth with a healthy neighbour, a resin-retained bridge is a good conservative option that can be fitted with almost no drilling, though it can come unstuck and is usually a medium-term fix rather than a permanent one.
The trade-off with a conventional bridge is the healthy tooth structure removed from the supports, and the bone under the false tooth slowly shrinking, which can leave a gap under the bridge over time.
When a Denture Is a Good Choice
When several teeth are missing in different places, when surgery isn't right for you at the moment, or when cost is the deciding factor. A well-made modern denture can look very natural. It's also a sensible stepping stone: a denture can hold the space and the look while you decide about an implant, and it's the usual temporary while an implant heals.
What a denture can't do is stop the bone shrinking underneath it, so it loosens over the years and needs relining or remaking. Many people also find a plate on the roof of the mouth or clasps on other teeth hard to live with.
Costs Over Time
Up front, the denture is cheapest, the implant dearest. Over twenty years the order often reverses. A three-unit bridge costs around three times £695 and typically needs replacing after 10 to 15 years, and if a support tooth fails the bridge goes with it. A denture needs relines and replacements. An implant, once it's healed, needs daily cleaning, dental examinations and a hygiene visit every three months (a condition of our guarantee), though the crown may need replacing after 10 to 15 years like any crown. Our implant cost guide lists every fee, and treatment from £1,500 can be spread with 0% finance over 6 or 12 months.
How We Decide with You
At your free consultation we look at the gap, the teeth either side and your bite, and take a CT scan if an implant is a possibility (£160). Then we go through all three options with their fees and timescales, and say which we'd choose and why. The written plan is yours to take home. Nobody is pushed towards the most expensive option; a bridge or a denture is sometimes simply the right answer.
Questions
This guide is general information, not a diagnosis. A dentist needs to examine you to say what is right for your teeth.