Costa Mesa patients take the 405 or Adams Ave about 20 minutes to Safari Dentistry and Implants in Huntington Beach for dental bridges. Zirconia and ceramic bridges are made from an intraoral scan in two visits, and the periodontist confirms the anchor teeth can carry the load before they are prepared.
Dental bridge or implant: which is better?
A bridge is faster and costs less up front, and insurance is more likely to help pay for it. An implant takes months and costs more, but it leaves the neighboring teeth untouched and keeps the bone in the gap. For Costa Mesa patients the deciding factor is usually the teeth beside the gap: if they already need crowns, a bridge does two jobs at once; if they are untouched, an implant spares them.
- Bridge
- 2 visits over 2 to 3 weeks, lasts 10 to 15 years
- Implant and crown
- 3 to 9 months, lasts 20+ years, needs enough bone
- Partial denture
- 2 to 4 visits, lowest cost, removable
- Neighboring teeth
- Crowned for a bridge, untouched for an implant
- Bone in the gap
- Shrinks slowly under a bridge, preserved by an implant
Why a periodontist looks at the anchor teeth
A bridge is only as good as the teeth holding it. If those teeth have bone loss or gum disease, the bridge loosens with them, which is the usual reason a bridge fails early. The periodontist measures the bone and gum around each anchor tooth first, treats any disease, and says plainly when the anchors are too weak and an implant or a partial is the safer plan.
Why Costa Mesa patients choose Safari for a dental bridge
Costa Mesa patients who have visited an implant center are often surprised to hear a bridge discussed at all. It is a sound choice when the neighboring teeth need crowns anyway, when health or medication makes surgery a poor idea, or when the timeline is weeks rather than months. The office explains the trade-offs with your X-ray in front of you and puts both fees in writing.
Bridge cost, insurance and payment plans
Costa Mesa patients get a written fee for the whole bridge, including the temporary, the fitting and the follow-up visit, and a second written fee for the implant alternative. Dental plans usually treat a bridge as major restorative work and pay a percentage up to the annual maximum; some have a waiting period or a missing-tooth clause, and the front desk checks both before you decide. The balance can be spread over monthly payments.
What to bring to your first visit from Costa Mesa
- Any recent X-rays, or the old bridge if it has come out.
- Your insurance card or Medi-Cal Dental member number; benefits and any missing-tooth clause are checked before the plan is priced.
- The date the tooth was lost or is due to be removed; some plans ask for it.
- Any implant quote you already have, so a bridge and an implant can be compared line by line.
Getting to the office from Costa Mesa
Safari Dentistry and Implants is at 16511 Goldenwest St, Unit 101, Huntington Beach, CA 92647, about 10 miles from Costa Mesa and usually about 20 minutes by car. From Costa Mesa take the 405 north to the Goldenwest St exit and head south about two and a half miles to Heil Ave. Without the freeway, Adams Ave or Talbert Ave west to Goldenwest St, then north, takes about the same time. The office is at the corner of Goldenwest and Heil with parking in front.
- Hours: Monday to Thursday, 10 AM to 4 PM. Same-day emergency time is held each open day.
- Parking: free, in the lot at the door, with a level entrance.
- Patients come from: Mesa Verde, the Eastside and Westside, the South Coast Plaza area and the neighborhoods around Orange Coast College and the fairgrounds.