I recently had to have one of my teeth taken out (the left incisor). The dentist that did the extraction is leery of a dental implant to replace the tooth because I have been taking Fosamax for a decade. As a temporary fix, I’ve been wearing a dental flipper, which is extremely annoying and leaves a bad taste in my mouth all the time.

I’ve been reading about different kinds of dental bridges, like an Encore bridge or a Maryland bridge. Couldn’t either one of those work for me? My dentist seems hesitant because he would have to anchor it to one of my front teeth, but this flipper is not going to work forever. What would be my best course of action?

Carson in Topeka, KS

Dear Carson,

Several things should be considered. Getting a dental implant is not out of the question when you are taking Fosamax, though there is a slightly increased risk of local bone problems of a serious nature. The the likelihood of problems is small, those potential problems can be severe, so you need to carefully consider this. It might also be possible to have your oral surgeon and your doctor coordinate so that you temporarily stop taking the Fosamax so that you can have the dental implant root form surgery done.

If that all sounds too risky, certainly a dental bridge would be a perfectly feasible option. You should, in this case, definitely let your dentist chose the type of bridge that would best serve your particular situation.

Talk all of this over carefully with both your doctor and oral surgeon or dentist.

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