Permanent Bridge: a crown on the adjacent teeth of the missing area and a dummy tooth in the middle, which is thencemented into place.

Advantages:

• Cemented in place
• If an adjacent tooth already needs a crown it will restore that tooth also.
• Prevents drifting of adjacent and opposing teeth.
• Does not rule out an implant in the future.

Disadvantages:

• Requires good oral hygiene to keep it clean under bridge.
• Can crown a tooth that would not otherwise need to be crowned.
• If decay around one tooth the whole bridge will need to be replaced.

Titanium Implant: A titanium screw placed into the bone of the missing tooth area and left to heal while the bone grows to the implant. After integration with the bone, a zirconium abutment is placed into the implant and that is what protrudes out of the bone so a crown can fit on it.

Advantages:

• Permanent
• Is as close as we can get to putting in a natural tooth.
• You can brush and floss around it just like a natural tooth.
• If the crown breaks you just make a new crown for it, the implant is still okay.

Disadvantages:

• The process from beginning to end can be lengthy due to need for good bone formation and good bone integration.
• During the healing time there is a chance the implant can fail, and may need to be redone.
• Cost

Zirconium Implant: A non-metal implant made of zirconium oxide is placed into the bone and allowed to heal. The implant and abutment are made as one piece so some type of temporary covering is needed to protect the implant during the healing process. After the healing process a crown is needed.

Advantages:

• Same advantages as the titanium implant.
• Has no metal, so is a good option for chemically sensitive people

Disadvantages:

• Same disadvantages as the titanium implant.
• Made as one piece so an additional temporary is required for proper healing.

Removable Partial Denture: Can be made out of a non metal, flexible base and fits around either the adjacent teeth or the entire arch with false teeth in the missing area.

Advantages:

• Cost is cheaper than the other options
• Holds teeth in place so tooth movement is very minimum.

Disadvantages:

• Is not fixed in place so can move around during chewing.
• Food tends to pack around them during chewing so hygiene is very important.

Nothing: Leaving the missing space:

Advantages:

• Cost is nothing but the extraction price

Disadvantages:

• Adjacent teeth can drift into the missing space and opposing teeth can erupt to fill in the missing space.
• Can hinder on chewing ability.
• Can be aesthetically displeasing.
• Loss of too many posterior teeth can result in a collapse of the bite, causing TMJ pain and visible facial changes.