A bridge wins on day one and often loses by year twelve, when the abutment teeth need treatment of their own.
A three-unit bridge in zirconium costs around €540 here; a single implant with a zirconium crown around €480. In markets where an implant is €2,000 and a bridge €1,200, the bridge looks like the obvious saving — which is why it is chosen so often.
Two healthy teeth are reduced to stumps. Studies put the ten-year risk of one of those teeth needing root treatment at roughly one in five. If an abutment fails, the whole bridge is remade — often as a longer span or an implant anyway.
Maintenance: cleaning every six months, a crown replacement at 10–15 years, and the small but real risk of peri-implantitis if gum care lapses. Nothing is removed from neighbouring teeth.
Are the neighbouring teeth already crowned or heavily filled? If yes, a bridge uses teeth that are already compromised. If no, an implant preserves what you still have.
Yes — when the neighbours already need crowns, when bone is inadequate and grafting is declined, or when a medical condition contraindicates surgery.