Are there cases when an implant is not the best way to replace a missing tooth?
A. If the teeth adjacent to the missing tooth are crooked, decayed or already have big leaking fillings, and need to be capped anyway, it makes no sense to go through the time and expense of a dental implant and then have to cap the adjacent teeth anyway. Also, if there is not an adequate amount of jaw bone to hold the dental implant, bone grafting procedures may need to be done and the patient would need to evaluate the benefits of the implant approach versus the time and expense of the implants and bone graft.
