Multiple implants
Advantages of implant-supported bridges to replace several missing teeth
If you are missing several teeth, dental implants can replace both the crowns and some of the roots. Fixed bridges and removable partial dentures can achieve the same thing. But these older treatment approaches depend on support from the adjacent teeth — which typically are ground down to anchor the bridge or partial denture.
Gums and bone often recede around a fixed bridge or removable partial denture. As this occurs, the smile may become collapsed and increasingly unattractive. Removable partial dentures often aren’t as secure as their wearers would like, moving around in the mouth and compromising the denture-wearer’s ability to eat. The cement securing bridges can wash out, allowing in bacteria that can attack the anchoring teeth.
In contrast, when dental implants provide the support for a bridge, the teeth look and feel like natural teeth. They function like natural teeth, allowing the wearer to eat and speak normally. An implant-supported bridge also better preserves the bone by transmitting forces to the bone, stimulating it and preventing it from atrophying.