Dental Bridges
Seamlessly Address One Missing Tooth or Several Missing Teeth
Even one missing tooth can negatively impact your life, making chewing, smiling, and even speaking more cumbersome. Fortunately, there are several lifelike, durable tooth-replacement options available, including dental bridges. Even better, this smile-enhancing solution can seamlessly address one missing tooth or several missing teeth in a row. If you’d like to learn more, you can get in touch with our team or read on!
What Is a Dental Bridge?
Dental bridges are an extremely popular tooth-replacement option, but what exactly are they? Essentially, they are custom-made prosthetics that are crafted from ceramic, porcelain, or another natural-looking dental material. To seamlessly fill the gap in your smile, two dental crowns or dental implants surround the gap and the free-standing replacement teeth (known as pontics) literally “bridge” the space. Since the materials are durable and color-matched to your teeth beforehand, the end result is extremely lifelike in both look and feel.
The Types of Dental Bridges
During your consultation, our Shorewood dentist will take a look at your teeth and learn more about your unique oral health needs. From there, they will discuss the two types of dental bridges to help you decide which option is best for you.
Traditional Dental Bridges
Traditional bridges are designed to replace one missing tooth or several consecutive missing teeth. To accomplish this, dental crowns are placed on the teeth surrounding the gap. Although this does potentially require alterations to these teeth, it ensures that your dental bridge will remain firmly in place, restoring your bite and your smile in the process.
Implant Bridges
Implant bridges differ from traditional alternatives in one important way: they utilize dental implants on both sides of the gap. As a result, this option is often ideal for patients who are missing several teeth in a row. The good news is that implant bridges don’t require any alterations to your natural teeth.
The Benefits of Getting a Dental Bridge
Dental bridges offer patients several noteworthy benefits, including:
If you are struggling with tooth loss and want to learn more about dental bridges, then we encourage you to schedule an appointment with our team!
They help maintain the alignment of your existing teeth.
Implant bridges help preserve your jawbone.
They can last many years with proper care.
Each one is custom-made, ensuring they are lifelike in look and feel.
They stay put. No taking them in and out like removable dentures.
What Happens When a Missing Tooth Isn’t Replaced
A gap in the smile is easy to see in the mirror, but the changes it sets off are not always visible. Teeth on either side of a gap can gradually tilt or drift into the empty space, changing how the upper and lower teeth meet. Chewing often becomes less efficient - many people start favoring one side of the mouth or avoiding certain foods, which places extra wear on the remaining teeth. Because teeth play a role in forming sounds, missing teeth can also affect pronunciation.
There are quieter changes too. The jawbone stays dense largely because chewing transmits force through the teeth, and in an area where a tooth is gone that stimulation is reduced. A bridge addresses all of this by filling the gap with a lifelike replacement anchored to the neighboring teeth or implants, restoring the row of teeth as a complete unit.
Living With a Bridge
A bridge becomes a permanent part of the mouth, so daily care treats it like natural teeth with one addition: cleaning underneath the replacement tooth. Because a bridge spans the gap, food and plaque can collect beneath it, and it cannot be reached with ordinary flossing motion. Floss threaders, interdental brushes, or a water flosser are the common tools for cleaning under a bridge. Keeping the supporting teeth healthy is the single most important factor in the bridge’s longevity, since the bridge depends on them.
