Dental Bridges
What Are Dental Bridges?
Dental bridges are custom restorations that replace missing teeth. They consist of artificial teeth anchored by neighboring natural teeth or dental implants. Bridges restore your smile’s appearance, enhance your chewing function, and maintain your dental health.
How Do Dental Bridges Work?
Dental bridges work by bridging the gap left by your missing teeth. Artificial teeth are anchored to adjacent natural teeth or implants. The supporting teeth act as sturdy pillars, holding the bridge in place. This restores your smile, helps maintain proper oral function, and prevents neighboring teeth from shifting out of position.
Am I a Good Candidate for Dental Bridges?
A typical candidate for dental bridges has one or more missing teeth but healthy neighboring teeth or dental implants. Good oral health, adequate bone support, and stable adjacent teeth make an ideal candidate for dental bridges.
How Does the Dental Bridges Procedure Work?
After a thorough assessment, your dentist prepares your neighboring teeth to support the bridge. Impressions are taken and sent to a dental lab for bridge fabrication. A temporary bridge is placed, and on your next visit, the custom bridge is bonded, restoring your smile and bite.
Bridges
Created in Treatment
Bridges are natural-looking dental appliances that can replace a section of missing teeth. Because they are custom-made, bridges are barely noticeable and can restore the natural contour of teeth as well as the proper bite relationship between upper and lower teeth.
There are several types of fixed dental bridges (cannot be removed), including conventional fixed bridges, cantilever bridges and resin-bonded bridges. Some bridges are removable and can be cleaned by the wearer; others need to be removed by a dentist.
Porcelain, gold alloys or combinations of materials are usually used to make bridge appliances.
Appliances called implant bridges are attached to an area below the gum tissue, or the bone.
