Some Facts about Dental Bridges

Apr 15, 2022

If you have a missing tooth and are looking for replacements, a dental bridge can help replace the gap left by the missing tooth. So long as two healthy teeth besides the missing tooth gap remain, dental bridges are a suitable option for replacing your lost tooth. The two healthy teeth, besides the gap, function as abutments or anchors to hold the missing tooth in place between them.

There are some facts and misconceptions about dental bridges that you must understand and gather proper knowledge about this restorative solution. Therefore, before deciding whether dental bridges are an appropriate solution for you, please check out the facts about these restorations to make an informed decision.

What Types of Dental Bridges Can You Have?

There are four types of dental bridges. They are traditional, cantilever, Maryland, and implant-supported bridges. All four bridges help replace missing teeth to restore the functionality of your mouth and smile after undergoing a procedure to have them in your mouth.

Does a Dental Bridge Fall out While Eating?

Dental bridges are fixed appliances attached to the abutment teeth or supported by implants. They are unlike dentures that sit on your gums and remain prone to slipping and shifting when eating and speaking. Whether you have a traditional bridge or a Maryland bridge, rest assured they will likely not fall out eating or speaking. Therefore, you have no reason to remain concerned about your restorations because they remain fixed in your mouth for over a decade or more.

Do Bridges Appear like Natural Teeth?

Different materials like gold, metals, ceramics, and porcelain help make dental bridges. However, the Streetsville dental clinic provides tooth-colored resin or ceramic bridges to ensure they resemble and match the color of your natural teeth. Therefore when you replace your natural missing teeth with dental bridges, you get a like-for-like replacement that doesn’t detract from your smile.

Dental Bridges Require Multiple Surgeries

In stark contrast, you can have dental bridges in your mouth in a couple of appointments with the Streetsville dentist, providing affordable dental bridge treatment. Furthermore, the dentist completes the dental bridge placement in a couple of office visits and performs merely two procedures.

During your first appointment, your abutment teeth are prepared to accommodate the dental crowns holding your dental bridge the Pontic in place. Preparation of the abutment teeth is slightly uncomfortable, but you receive local anesthesia to ensure you experience no discomfort. The dentist removes tooth enamel from the abutment teeth, reshaping them for holding the dental crown. At the end of the reshaping, you receive temporary bridges over the prepared teeth for support after the dentist impressions them to create your customized porcelain crowns.

You must revisit the dentist after three weeks when the dental laboratory delivers your dental crowns and the bridge. During your second appointment, the dentist starts the procedure by removing the temporary bridges and checking the permanent restorations for color and fit. If everything is acceptable, the dentist cements your dental bridge to the prepared teeth to give you your artificial replacement that functions like your natural tooth. This explanation should confirm that dental bridges do not require multiple surgeries to have them in your mouth.

What about Implant-Supported Bridges?

If you desire a fixed dental placement because you lack the supporting teeth next to the missing tooth gap, you can have an implant-supported bridge that functions as your abutment tooth instead of relying on your natural teeth. However, implant-supported bridges require multiple surgeries and plenty of healing time before you can have an artificial tooth. Therefore so long as you have healthy abutment teeth, you can opt for traditional, cantilever, or Maryland bridges to replace your missing teeth.

Besides restoring the functionality of your mouth and smile, dental bridges benefit you in several ways that you may not realize when you lose a tooth. Loss of teeth causes your remaining teeth to shift towards the vacant gap to create misalignments in your mouth. Your jawbone begins sagging because of bone deterioration to make you appear older, and the missing tooth gap also becomes a breeding ground for bacteria and food particles to accumulate and create infections in your mouth that require expensive treatments from dentists. Most importantly, the missing tooth encourages you to follow large chunks of food instead of chewing them to make you a victim of indigestion.

Fortunately, you can overcome all problems described by replacing your missing teeth with dental bridges provided by Monarch Dentistry — Mississauga — Streetsville in a couple of appointments at their office.