Can I Get A Dental Bridge?

Question

I'm 16 and right now i have a dental flipper because i knocked out my left front tooth. I hate having to take it out at night especially when i spend the night at my friends houses. Also making out can be worrisome too cuz of the plastic on the roof of my mouth. My dentist says i cant get an implant because I'm not 18 yet. Can someone explain to me about bridges? Are they removable? Will they do them on a minor? If it matters I have really good dental hygiene.

Answer 1

A lot of this depends on the condition of the adjacent teeth (the ones which are to the left and right of the missing tooth).  Bridges are still a very common way to restore missing teeth, however, the downside is that the two adjacent teeth need to be cut down for that, and bridges usually have a very finite life span, compared to a dental implant.  Also, the long-term esthetics fare better with the dental implant, because there is typically no bone resorption associated with a dental implant, which is what sometimes makes a bridge look bad after a couple of years.

On a different note, it is NOT the age that would qualify you for a dental implant, but whether your skeletal system is fully grown or not.  Women usually tend to finish their growth phase sooner than men do, so at age 16 you may actually be already a candidate for a dental implant.  One way to find out is to have a hand x-ray taken (I know it sounds strange), but we can tell by the skeletal structure of your hand whether your skeletal growth phase is completed or not.

I would get a second opinion from an oral surgeon on that, because the sooner you can get an implant done the better it is.