Last updated: September 2026
You have lost a single tooth and you know it needs replacing. Your dentist has mentioned two options: an implant or a bridge. Both fill the gap. Both look like a tooth when they are done. But they work differently, last differently, and involve different trade-offs.
This is not a case where one is categorically better than the other. It depends on what is happening either side of the gap, how much bone you have underneath it, and what matters most to you.
A titanium fixture is placed into the jawbone where the root used to be. Over several months, the bone integrates around it. Once that healing is complete, an abutment and a crown are fitted on top. The result is a standalone replacement tooth that does not touch or rely on the neighbouring teeth.
The teeth on either side of the gap are prepared (filed down) to accept crowns. A three-unit bridge is then made: two crowns that sit on the prepared teeth, with a false tooth (called a pontic) suspended between them to fill the gap. The neighbouring teeth carry the load.
This is usually the deciding factor when the teeth either side are healthy. A bridge requires removing a significant amount of enamel from two teeth that may have nothing wrong with them. Once that enamel is gone, it does not come back. Those teeth will always need crowns from that point forward.
An implant leaves the neighbouring teeth untouched. It stands alone in the bone.
If, however, the teeth either side of the gap already have large fillings, cracks, or were going to need crowns anyway, the bridge preparation is less of a sacrifice. You are crowning teeth that needed crowning, and getting the gap filled at the same time. In that scenario, the bridge makes more clinical sense.
When a tooth is lost, the bone that supported it begins to resorb over time because it is no longer being stimulated by a root. An implant replaces that stimulation. A bridge does not. The bone under the pontic will continue to shrink, and over years a visible gap can develop between the underside of the false tooth and the gum.
This matters more in some parts of the mouth than others. In the front of the mouth, where the gum line is visible when you smile, bone loss under a pontic can become cosmetically noticeable. Further back, it is less of a concern.
A bridge can usually be completed in two to three appointments over a few weeks. An implant takes months because of the healing time required for the bone to integrate with the fixture. If you need the gap filled quickly, a bridge delivers sooner.
At our Croydon practice, bridges can also be made using our in-house CAD/CAM milling system, which can reduce the number of visits for suitable cases.
Implant fixtures can last decades, often a lifetime if the bone remains healthy. The crown on top typically lasts ten to twenty years. A bridge typically lasts seven to fifteen years. When a bridge fails, the supporting teeth may need additional treatment, particularly if decay has developed under the crowns.
Over a twenty-year horizon, an implant may need one crown replacement. A bridge may need to be replaced entirely, and the second bridge may require more extensive preparation of the supporting teeth.
A bridge usually costs less upfront. An implant, factoring in the fixture, healing time, abutment and crown, costs more initially. But the lifetime cost calculation can tip in the implant's favour when you account for the bridge's shorter lifespan and the potential cost of additional work on the supporting teeth down the track.
Our article on implant costs explains why quotes vary and what stages you are paying for.
An implant crown is cleaned the same way as a natural tooth: brush it, floss around it. A bridge requires threading floss under the pontic using a floss threader or superfloss, because the three units are joined together. It is not difficult, but it is an extra step that some people find fiddly, and skipping it leads to decay at the margins of the supporting crowns.
For a single missing tooth, there are really only these two fixed options. A partial denture is removable and less invasive, but most people who can choose between an implant and a bridge prefer something fixed. Our implant versus denture comparison covers that ground separately.
At Divine Dental Care on Wicklow Ave, we can assess both options in the same appointment. We have a cone beam CT scanner on site for the bone assessment that implant planning requires, and our in-house milling system means bridge fabrication does not always need an external lab. Both pieces of information, whether you have the bone for an implant and how a bridge would work for your specific teeth, come from the same clinical examination.
For patients coming from Bayswater, Heathmont or Ringwood East, we are a short walk from Croydon station on the Lilydale line. Residents further out in Chirnside Park or Montrose are a ten-minute drive along Dorset Road or the Maroondah Highway.
Call (03) 9725 8040 or book online. Full details on each treatment are on our dental implants page and crowns and bridges page.
This article is general information comparing implant and bridge options for a single missing tooth. It is not personal dental advice. Your dentist will recommend the option that suits your clinical situation.