The Amazing Benefits of Dental Bridges

A missing tooth or large gap between teeth can look odd and change one’s facial appearance. Also, various spaces in the teeth can cause displacement of other teeth into the open spaces and. In worse cases, the person can suffer from jaw damage. When a person has a huge gap between two teeth, they can have problems with eating, speaking, or self-esteem. Fortunately, dental bridges are made for situations like this.

A tooth bridge is a procedure that involves the replacement of a missing tooth or missing teeth. It bridges the gap between two teeth by filling the space created by a missing tooth with a false tooth, “pontic,” which looks like an actual tooth. The false teeth include different types of materials like gold, alloys, porcelain, or a combination of various types of materials. The false teeth are supported by an actual tooth or dental implant. The material used to fix the bridge and the false teeth together is called an abutment. Abutments can be porcelain or metal. The abutment is then placed on the side where the missing tooth is located, and the false teeth are placed in between them.

Also, dental bridges can be used as a substitute for partial dentures for front teeth. Partial dentures are mostly removable dentures that are used as a replacement for one or more missing teeth in the upper or lower part of your mouth. While dental bridges are fixed, dentures are removable and can easily get misplaced if they are not used properly. They are both used for cosmetics purposes.

Types of Dental Bridges

Dental bridges differ based on their durability, cost, and preferences. A dentist’s recommendation can also help in choosing the best dental bridge that fits properly. We provide different types of dental bridges in Emerson.

Below are the different types of dental bridges.

Traditional Bridges: It is the most popular type of dental bridge. This type of procedure involves placing two teeth crowns (these are custom-made dental materials used to fix missing teeth) on either side of the missing tooth with the false teeth in between the teeth crowns.

Cantilever Bridges: This method is often used when there is no possibility of fixing the bridge to an actual one on either side of the teeth space. This also means that only one side of the gap has an actual tooth. In such cases, the false teeth (pontics) are fixed with a single tooth crown on the actual tooth instead of two tooth crowns like conventional bridges. Dentists do not recommend that this type of bridge be fixed on the back of the mouth because of the intense force that it can place on the other fixed bridges. This can also cause damages to the teeth.

Maryland or Resin – Bonded Bridges: This is a procedure where porcelain or metal wings are used for abutment instead of teeth crowns. The metal wings are often bonded to the existing teeth on only one side of the bridge. This method is often used for the replacement of the front missing teeth.

Implant-Supported Bridge: This procedure is used mostly when you have multiple missing teeth. During this procedure, a dental implant is surgically fixed in the jawbone for each missing tooth. After this first treatment, the mouth is given a couple of months to recover and allow the bone tissues to fuse with the dental implants. This process is called osseointegration. The second treatment is scheduled after this, and during this procedure, the gums are opened up, and abutments will be attached to the implants. Just like the first treatment, the gums will have to recover for few months before the next treatment. Finally, the dental bridge is placed after the gums have healed.

Benefits of Dental Bridges

Dental bridges are efficient and have created solutions to numerous dental mishaps. They are very useful. Dental bridges can

• Restore smile: Dental bridges fill in the gap and patients the ability to smile again broadly without the fear of exposing their teeth.
• Improve chewing: One of the appropriate things to do while eating is to chew properly. When a person has one or more missing teeth, they may feel pains and discomfort when they are eating because of the spaces in the teeth. However, after getting dental implants, the patient would be able to eat properly.
• Prevent teeth from shifting: Dental bridges can prevent natural teeth from moving into the space created by a missing tooth, thereby preventing teeth misalignment.
• Cover a dental implant: After a dental implant, the bridges can be applied to cover the implant and enhance the smile.
• Maintain the natural shape of the face: In this case, the jaw bone can begin to get damaged because of the lack of stimulation caused by a missing tooth. This is why it is important to fill up space so that your jaw can produce bone cells. A dental bridge can help with this.
• Improve speaking: After a person’s tooth or teeth have gone missing, they might develop difficulties when pronouncing words. A dental bridge can help to correct speech problems caused by misplaced teeth.