ImplantPPCWhat Is a Fake Tooth Called
There isn't one word for it. That's the honest answer, and it's why this question gets asked so often.
"Fake tooth" is an everyday phrase, not a dental term. Dentists don't use it, insurance forms don't use it, and if you search for it you'll get a pile of different names — dentures, bridges, crowns, implants, flippers — that all sound like they mean the same thing. They don't. Each one describes a different kind of replacement, and the differences matter.
So here's the useful way to think about it. Every fake tooth you'll hear about replaces one of two things: the visible part of a tooth (the crown you see when you smile), or the root underneath it. And every option is either something you take out, something fixed in place, or something surgically anchored in your jaw. Once you sort the names that way, the vocabulary stops being confusing.
The general dental term for a fake tooth
The broadest words are artificial tooth, false tooth, dental restoration, and dental prosthesis.
A dental restoration is the catch-all term for anything that rebuilds or replaces part of your teeth — a filling counts, a crown counts, an implant counts. Dental prosthesis ("prosthesis" just means an artificial body part) usually refers to something that replaces teeth you've lost, like a denture or a bridge. Artificial tooth and false tooth sit in the middle: plain descriptions that could mean almost any replacement, from a single tooth to a full set.
That vagueness is exactly why "fake tooth" never shows up on a treatment plan. When a dentist writes something down, they name the specific thing — because "fake tooth" doesn't tell them whether they're making a removable appliance or drilling into your jaw.
What a single fake tooth is called
If you're missing one tooth, the name depends entirely on how the replacement is held in place.
- A crown — a hollow cap that covers a damaged or treated tooth that's still there. It doesn't replace a missing tooth, it rebuilds one that's broken down. (It's also the top half of a natural tooth, which is why the word gets confusing.)
- A pontic — the actual replacement tooth in a bridge. It's shaped to look like a natural tooth, and it's the piece filling the gap.
- A dental implant — a titanium post that goes into the jawbone where a root used to be. The implant itself isn't the tooth you see. It's the anchor. The visible tooth gets attached later.
- An implant-supported crown — the artificial tooth that sits on top of a healed implant. This is the closest thing to a true single-tooth replacement, because it replaces both the root and the crown.
- A flipper tooth — a lightweight removable appliance, usually acrylic, that fills one gap. Temporary by design.
Notice how many of those are called "a fake tooth" in casual conversation, even though they're completely different objects. One is a cap. One is a plastic insert. One is a screw in your bone.
Dentures and partial dentures for replacing multiple teeth
Once you're replacing more than a tooth or two, the options change, because supporting each tooth separately stops making sense.
Dentures are artificial teeth and gums built to restore a whole upper or lower arch — that's the full curve of teeth in one jaw. They're removable, they sit on the gums, and they're typically made as a set rather than individual teeth.
Partial dentures do the same job for a smaller number of missing teeth when some natural teeth are still standing. They clip or rest against the teeth you have left. You take them out to clean them and usually at night.
The key thing to know: a denture doesn't replace tooth roots. It replaces the part you see and the gum line around it. That's why long-term denture wearers can notice changes in how their dentures fit — the bone underneath isn't being used the way it was when roots were there.
Bridges and the replacement tooth called a pontic
A bridge fills a gap by anchoring to the teeth on either side of it. Those neighbors get crowns, and the replacement tooth suspended between them is the pontic. That's the specific word for "the fake tooth in the middle of a bridge" — a term most people never hear until they need one.
Bridges are fixed. You don't take them out. You brush around them and clean underneath them with floss threaders or a small interdental brush, because the pontic floats slightly above the gum and food can collect there.
Three teeth or fewer missing in a row is often where a bridge comes up. Beyond that, the anchor teeth start carrying too much load, and a partial denture or implants usually make more sense. That's a dentist's call, not something you can figure out from a search result.
Crowns after treatment and the difference between a crown and an implant
This is the single most confusing pair of words in dentistry, so let's separate them cleanly.
A crown is a covering. It goes over a tooth that's already there. You might get one after a root canal, after a large filling weakened the tooth, or after a crack. The tooth root is still yours. Nothing is being replaced — the tooth is being protected and rebuilt.
An implant is a replacement root. The tooth is gone entirely, and a post is placed into the bone in its place. Later, a crown is attached to that post.
So the two aren't really competitors. A crown is the finish. An implant is the foundation. Sometimes a crown goes on a natural tooth, sometimes it goes on an implant, and the crown itself looks basically the same either way.
Dental implants and implant-supported artificial teeth
A dental implant is the part that goes into your jaw. It's usually titanium, and over a few months the bone grows around it and locks it in — that process is called osseointegration, which just means the implant fuses with the bone.
Once that's done, your dentist attaches the artificial tooth. Depending on how many teeth you're missing, that could be:
- A single implant crown for one missing tooth
- An implant-supported bridge for several teeth in a row
- Implant-supported dentures or a full arch for an entire jaw, where a few implants hold a whole set of teeth in place
That last category is where you'll hear the phrase permanent artificial teeth. Fixed implant-supported teeth are designed to stay in — you don't remove them, and you clean them like natural teeth.
People ask about tooth implant cost a lot, and it's fair to want a number. But implants involve surgery, healing time, and sometimes a bone graft, and the total depends on how many teeth you're replacing and what your jaw looks like. Any figure you see online is a rough range at best, not your quote. That conversation belongs with a dentist who's actually examined you.
Flipper teeth: the temporary removable option
A flipper tooth — sometimes just called a flipper — is a lightweight, removable acrylic appliance that fills a gap left by a missing tooth. It usually has a small clasp or wire that grips the neighboring teeth to hold it in place.
Flippers are cheap and fast, which is why they show up so often as a stopgap. Common uses:
- Covering a gap while an implant heals, so you're not walking around with a visible space for months
- Filling a gap temporarily before a more permanent plan is finalized
- A short-term fix when someone needs to look presentable for work or an event
The trade-off is durability. Acrylic is thin and not built for years of chewing. A flipper is a placeholder, not a long-term solution, and it's usually considered a temporary appliance for exactly that reason.
How to compare replacement options by permanence, removability, and number of missing teeth
Here's the whole vocabulary laid out by the two things that actually matter — how many teeth, and how it's held.
One missing tooth:
- Implant + crown — fixed, replaces the root, not removable
- Bridge (with a pontic) — fixed, doesn't replace the root, uses neighboring teeth
- Flipper — removable, temporary, one tooth
- Partial denture — removable, rests on remaining teeth
- Implant-supported bridge — fixed, replaces multiple roots
- Bridge — fixed, depending on how many teeth are missing
A full arch:
- Complete denture — removable, sits on the gums
- Implant-supported denture or full arch — fixed or snap-in, anchored to implants
Three quick questions will usually tell you which word applies to your situation. Is it removable? Does it replace the tooth root? How many teeth is it covering? Answer those and you've basically named your own option.
Other names you might run into
Is a fake tooth always called a denture? No — dentures replace a full arch. A single replacement might be a crown, a pontic, an implant crown, or a flipper, all depending on how it's supported.
What about insurance paperwork? It will use the specific term, not "fake tooth." If you see "pontic" or "abutment" on a plan, that's the fixed replacement tooth and the anchor holding it, in that order.
Can a dentist just give you a fake tooth? Yes — dentists provide artificial teeth in several forms, and which one you get depends on what's missing and what's holding it in. There's no single answer that fits everyone.
What's the cheapest option? The research behind this doesn't rank them, and there's no honest way to name one without knowing your case. Cost depends on the tooth, the material, the number of visits, and whether surgery is involved.
What if I just want to know what to call it? Then pick the closest term from above, and say it out loud at your appointment. That alone will save you a few minutes of confused gesturing at your own mouth.
---
Take the word you landed on — pontic, flipper, implant crown, partial — and bring it to a dentist. Ask them which one fits the tooth or teeth you're missing, and why. The name is the easy part. Matching it to your mouth is what actually needs a professional looking at it.