Esthetically, implants at the # 7, 10 position connected by a 4 unit bridge is the most predictable from the soft tissue standpoint. Implants placed side by side (#8, 9) from a tissue management standpoint are much more difficult to get a predictable result.

Implant crowns are much more expensive than regular crowns. Because of the nature of the bridge, all crowns related to an implant supported bridge cost the same.

In our office, implant crowns: 1617

Pontics: 940

Abutments: 522

Implants: 2089

Bone Grafting/Soft Tissue management may also be required.

Good luck. Implants are definitely the best choice you have for the replacement of missing teeth, even though they cost more than conventional crown and bridge work.

Dr. L

Doing an implant supported bridge requires a lot of planning and even discussions with surgeon if that is another office. Then temporaries, while implants integrate (if not done right at surgery which is usually less certain than waiting 6 months with temp) need to be made and maintained and adjusted.

Then construction of bridge can take several forms and this is very important to plan.

You are best off usually with a dentist like a prosthodontist, or a very experienced one like me ;). I am not a prosthodontist.

Yes, the cost will probably be like four crowns even if there are only two actual implants because of all of the work and expertise involved.

That being said, you certainly can get several opinions.

You can also get the implants now and have a temp bridge put on them for a while until you figure out how much you need to save, spend or whatever suits you to finish.

I believe that this is only acceptable if they provide the extra components such as lab analogs, included in the cost or do a screw retained restoration vs cement retained. Personally I avoid screw retained in my treatment plans.

That said, I also do not like to do implant supported bridge work if that is preventable which many times it can be.

I do most of my implant placement and restorative myself so this minimizes your cost as far as consultations, and you can be comfortable that every aspect is done by the designer from start to finish so there is little worry that somebody placed an implant at a wrong angle etc....

Also I feel that if you are going to do implants to avoid a bridge so you can floss normally, you should not have to deal with a bridge and implants. There is technology out there that can assure predictable results for implant placement.

going single implant/single crown in the long run comes out to be cheaper because should something happen to the porcelain(say you chipped your bridge, you would not have to remake the whole bridge, just the crown that is involved. Having single unit vs bridge is much healthier for the tissues as well because it permits proper hygiene without worries of carrying extra aids such as floss threaders.

If you are interested please give my office a call for a complimentary consultation.