Expert: Rafael Mosery,D.D.S. - 9/10/2006

Question
Hi, At a young age my son crashed his bike and broke his two front teeth on in half vertical and on in half horizontally.  Root canals were preformed and finially caps or whatever to make these teeth whole again.  Later in life as a young adult another accident happened and both do to the weekness were knocked out totally.  He has lived without his two front teeth now for about 5 years for reasons he only knows.  But I am writing for your opinion on what would be the best way to replace these teeth from the most expesive way to the least... IE implants..bridge... do they glue fake teeth in... etc.... can you give some insite on what can be done so I can try to convince him he needs to get some work done.  Its just been tooooo long... thanks

Answer
If the adjacent teeth are in good shape then there is absolutely no question in my mind that the optimal treatment would be to have these teeth replaced with dental implants. There's a strong possibility that the bone volume in this area may be compromised due to the trauma and the amount of time he's been without teeth.A bone graft may be necessary for an optimal result,DO IT. It's worth the extra time and expense and the case will come out nicer and more predictable. Your next option would be to have a fixed bridge placed. This would involve grinding down the adjacent teeth which would be a shame if they're in good shape. The last option would be to have a removable partial denture made. This is the least desirable since it's not fixed in place and it would put the adjacent teeth under more stress. We are very fortunate to have the modality of dental implants as a treatment option IT SAVES TEETH. Go for it.
Good Luck,
Dr.Rafael Mosery