I had a molar removed after spending lots of money to try and save it. Dentist never said anything about a need to get an implant to replace it or put any sort of spacers in to hold the space. Fast forward 10 years and the movement of my other teeth is a problem and the bone around the missing tooth is thinning.

I don't know how typical my case is but I would say it is important to have something whether it is a bridge or an implant or old fashioned false teeth if for no other reason than to hold the space open and to not allow your teeth to shift. I am going to have to have an implant now and a sinus lift as well as have an appliance to push my teeth back in place.

If I had it to do again I would have either just left the roots and post of the dead tooth in (root canal of course) or had them give me a false tooth and a bridge until I could afford the implant.