01
Dental implant
Best for: replacing one or more teeth for the long term. Preserves bone, doesn’t touch neighboring teeth, feels most natural. Requires minor surgery and 3–6 months of healing; highest up-front cost, often lowest lifetime cost.
Tooth replacement guide
Implant, bridge, or denture: which is right for you?
1 min read · Patient guide
Three good ways to replace missing teeth—each with different trade-offs in cost, time, and longevity. Here’s a plain-English comparison.
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Patient resource
Use this guide to prepare better questions—then call us with them.
02
Bridge
Best for: a faster, non-surgical fix when neighboring teeth already need crowns. Completed in a few weeks; relies on adjacent teeth; doesn’t prevent bone loss under the gap.
03
Denture
Best for: replacing many or all teeth affordably. Removable; fastest and least invasive; can be stabilized with implants for a far more secure fit.
04
How we decide together
A 3D scan, your gum and bone health (evaluated by our periodontics-trained dentist), your timeline, and your budget. We’ll lay out all three options with costs and let you choose.
General patient education from Legacy Dental Arts · Published · Not a diagnosis or substitute for individual dental advice.
Helpful questions
Clear answers before you reach out.
Which option lasts the longest?+
An implant. It carries the highest up-front cost and often the lowest lifetime cost, and it is the only one of the three that preserves the bone under the gap.
Which is fastest?+
A denture is the fastest and least invasive. A bridge takes a few weeks. An implant needs three to six months of healing after placement.
Does a bridge need surgery?+
No. A bridge is the non-surgical option, but it relies on the teeth on either side of the gap, which are crowned to support it.
Can a denture be made more secure?+
Yes. A denture can be stabilized with implants for a far more secure fit.
Compare them on your own mouth
See all three laid out with costs.
A 3D scan and a check of your gum and bone health by our periodontics-trained dentist give us what we need to show you the trade-offs.