What is a Dental Bridge?

Just like any bridge you encounter every day such as over a river or over railroad tracks, a cleveland dental bridge crosses over a gap between two teeth. The basic concept of crossing or bridging a gap. We’ll identify why you may need or benefit from a dental bridge, the different types available depending on the type of gap you’re dealing with, and the final benefits of choosing to have a dental bridge.

Why Would You Need a Dental Bridge?

The primary reason for considering a dental bridge is that you have lost a tooth. Possibly the tooth was extracted due to a disease that couldn’t allow it to be saved, or a bad fracture, broken tooth or even knocked out as the result of an accident. With that tooth missing you now are looking at your smile in a mirror and a gap is jumping out at you. You can pursue a dental implant to fill that gap or consider a bridge.

The Benefits of Choosing a Dental Bridge

As we just mentioned, the first and foremost benefit is the restoration of your smile. It’s amazing what your smile can contribute to your self-confidence and your self-esteem in both your personal and professional circles. The second benefit is that of restoring your ability to bite, chew and speak properly. A big benefit that would be noticed over time is that your neighboring teeth will literally shift into that gap creating a huge difference in your bite pattern. So your bite pattern maintains normalcy as does the shape of your face.

How do they Work?

There are three major types of dental bridges. The most common and most popular is the Traditional Bridge. This is where you have two neighboring teeth that will serve as abutment teeth. These two teeth will be prepped to have crowns put on them. Then the artificial tooth, called a pontic, will be made in a dental lab and will be affixed to the abutment crowns. The crowns and the pontic are made from porcelain or enamel, in any shade of white, and when finished will look like natural teeth.

The second type is a Maryland Bridge. This is when you replace the crowns on the abutment teeth with a metal framework that hook around the back side of these teeth. This approach is very conservative because it leaves your enamel on the abutment teeth untouched.

The final type is called a Cantilever Bridge. This is when the situation has only one abutment tooth to work with. A crown is used to support the artificial tooth suspended over the gap. A fourth type, which is more unusual, is when you have more than two teeth missing. An Implant-Supported Bridge introduces a dental implant as an abutment tooth. So you will end up with two pontics bridging the gaps on each side of the implant going to the two crowned abutment teeth. You have options. Visit your dentist for a consultation and get your smile back.

More on Dental Bridges : What is a Maryland Dental Bridge?