Thread: If I get bridgework done [a molar]how long will it take for the side of my...

...mouth to cave in? i'd rather get an implant

If It's One Tooth Then A Implant Would Be Better,if You Have The Right Bone Structure.

Your mouth doesn't cave in. Where the tooth was removed, there will be a loss of bone, and you will have a bone defect underneath the pontic (the false tooth part of the bridge).
Bone will always come off of this area. Calcium and phosphorus will not go back onto the bone in this area, because there is no tooth there putting stress on the bone.
The loss will occur immediately. The most loss will occur over the next year, and then it will slow down, but like I said it will always continue to loss bone.
The advantage of getting an implant instead of a bridge is that it does help to keep the bone in the area, and the teeth adjacent to the missing tooth do not need to be cut down.

What makes you think the side of your mouth will cave in? I had to have a tooth pulled (a bottom left side molar) when I was 13. I got a permanent bridge for a replacement tooth bridged over the teeth in front and in back of the space. I'm now 57--I don't believe the side of my mouth ever "caved in"!! Yes, the gum where the tooth had been did "indent"... but it was not visible from the OUTSIDE of my face.

If you can afford an implant, it probably is better...but implants are not usually covered by dental insurance and they run $2,000 or more---plus, it takes time to do as your gums have to "adjust" to the implanted bone before the tooth itself can be "screwed" into it. (Also...do you know they usually use bone from a cadaver? UGH! Some dead person's bone in your jaw....I'd read up on it first before deciding.)

I've never heard of anyone's mouth sinking in. I've had quite a bit of dental work and have never experienced this.