🦷 How much would I save with a dental bridge instead of an implant?

When deciding between a bridge and an implant, you have to weigh both clinical realities and out-of-pocket costs. As Dr. Nate puts it, a bridge basically uses two adjacent teeth as anchors for the tooth that's missing. An implant is a titanium screw placed directly into the bone.

As Dr. Nate notes, in general a bridge can be anywhere between 1800 to 3 500 to 4 500 depending on the on the dentist, depending on your area, depending on your insurance. Meanwhile, a single implant typically is going to be at the minimum 2500 all the way up to six thousand dollars per implant.

Dental insurance plans handle these procedures differently. As Dr. Nate notes, typically bridges are going to be way less expensive than an implant, and majority of the time they're partially at least covered by your insurance. Implants are sometimes considered cosmetic and excluded.

Check your specific policy limits before making a decision. While a bridge might seem cheaper on paper, your out-of-pocket reality depends heavily on what your carrier is willing to cover for restorative work versus surgical implants.

The health of your surrounding teeth dictates the best option. As Dr. Nate explains, if you have a healthy tooth, healthy tooth, you can just put an implant straight in there, not mess with those healthy teeth, and so that is a huge advantage of implants.

However, if you put a bridge on wobbly teeth or not strong teeth, that bridge is not going to last very long. As Dr. Nate notes, the advantage of a bridge is that it's actually very, very quick. Typically it takes two visits.