Alternatives to Dental Implants?

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I had an accident that caused me to lose a tooth. I was hoping to get a dental implant for it, but my dentist said I wasn’t a candidate because it is a front tooth. I was disappointed but need to find a replacement for this tooth. What are my next best options?

Corinne

Dear Corinne,

I am sorry to hear about your accident. Given what you’ve said, My first suggestion is that you find another dentist. You can absolutely get a dental implant on a front tooth. My guess is your dentist does not do dental implants because he doesn’t have the training. It is a procedure that he would have needed to get post-doctoral training in. Rather than send you to a dentist that could do the procedure, he lied and said you were not a candidate. Not the best dentist for you.

I would like you to get a second opinion from someone else. In most cases, if you are in good general health, then you should be a fine candidate for dental implants. There are exceptions, of course, which is why I want you getting a second opinion.

If for some reason it turns out you are not a candidate for a dental implant, you do have other options. Your next best option is to get a dental bridge. Though, that does require the two adjacent teeth to have dental crowns placed on them. Your false tooth will be suspended between the two crowns. Like the dental implant, it is permanently placed.

I would not give up on the idea of the dental implant yet. Get that second opinion.

Whichever procedure you end up with, you may want to consider teeth whitening first, depending on how satisfied you are with the current color. Once your dental implant crown is made, the color is permanent and will not respond to whitening. If you have the bleaching done first, you can match your new crown to the color you’ll be proud to keep around.

This blog is brought to you by Moline Dentist Dr. Goebel.