Advantages of Implants

	Implants	Bridges	Partial Dentures	Full Dentures
Ability to Chew	Optimal – Better than the other options	Usually good	Use other teeth for support; usually poor	Poor
Esthetics	Most natural	Usually good	Usually have clasps that show	Plastic teeth and gingiva appear unnatural
Durability	Considered to be permanent	Average lifetime is 8 years	Need adjustments and replacements frequently	Usually redone every 5 years
Maintenance	Routine check-up and good oral hygiene	Routine check-up and good oral hygiene	Routine check-up and good oral hygiene	Routine check-up and good oral hygiene
Practicality	In most cases, very practical	Not possible if adjacent teeth are not present	Impractical if adjacent teeth are of poor quality	Not practical if underlying bone is resorbed
Comfort	Most comfortable	Difficult to floss under	Can be uncomfortable	Can be uncomfortable
Damage to Adjacent Teeth	Not applicable	Adjacent teeth permanently damaged during fabrication	Remaining teeth altered and damaged during fabrication	Not applicable
Cost	Comparable to the other options	Depends on number of missing teeth	Varies	Varies
Bone Support	Preserves boney structures of the jaws	No bone support	Destroys boney support	Destroys boney support