When you have a gap in your smile, it is essential to address this issue with a dentist’s help. Not only can it be the root of general insecurity, but it can also cause oral health issues that will require extensive professional intervention. A popular fix for gaps is a dental bridge, which uses surrounding teeth to hold a new tooth in place. Here’s everything you need to know about this useful dental hardware.  

What Are Dental Bridges? 

Dental bridges are crowns or framework designed to fix a gap in your teeth. This option for filling in your smile requires using adjacent teeth or implants called abutment teeth as an anchor, then fastening a false tooth called a pontic in the gap.  

Filling gaps in your teeth is essential to your smile as it prevents your teeth from shifting into the empty space. While this strategy avoids the cosmetic issue of a crooked smile, it also helps you maintain basic tasks like chewing and speaking. Dental bridges also help to keep the shape of your face, which can become distorted the more that your teeth shift. 

Types of Dental Bridges 

Traditional Bridges 

The most common type of dental bridge, traditional bridges, use crowns on two abutment teeth to attach the pontic to your smile. Made from porcelain-fused metal or ceramic, pontics are meant to imitate the look of a real tooth in the gap.  

Cantilever Bridges 

Cantilever bridges employ the same strategy as traditional bridges, but instead of crowns on both teeth, they only use one tooth as an anchor. This bridge technique is rarely used because it put a lot of force on your teeth, particularly in the back of your mouth at the molars.

Maryland Bonded Bridges 

Like traditional bridges, Maryland bonded bridges use two neighboring natural teeth as the anchor for the pontic. This strategy, however, uses a framework to fill the gap instead of a crown. 

Implant-supported Bridges 

The most durable but most invasive technique of the four types, implant-supported bridges use an implant for every missing tooth. This bridge requires two surgeries to use—a first to install the implant and then a second to install the bridge a few weeks later. In situations where an implant for every tooth isn’t possible, a dentist will instead use two implants as an anchor for a pontic, similar to a traditional bridge.  

A Guide to the Dental Bridge Procedure 

Preparation 

For bridges that don’t involve implants, the process is divided into two appointments. For the first visit, a dentist will prepare the abutment teeth. To get them ready for the crowns or framework, a dentist will first apply a local anesthetic to remove a portion of the enamel from your teeth without pain.  

Then, they will make impressions of your teeth with a mold to send off to a dental lab for the bridge, pontic, and crowns. Since your protective enamel will be exposed until the final crown is set in place, your dentist will then install a temporary crown to wear until the final bridge comes in.  

Installation 

When the dental lab returns your final bridge, pontic, and crowns, your dentist will then remove the temporary bridge and install them. Once again employing the help of a local anesthetic, they will put the porcelain or metal bridge in place and, if a fixed bridge, secure it in place with cement.  

In many situations, a dentist will secure the bridge with temporary cement to ensure that it fits well. Then, after a few weeks, you’ll return to get the bridge permanently cemented in place. They may also require a follow-up visit to make sure the metal framework fits and doesn’t interfere with your bite.  

Living With a Dental Bridge 

With proper oral care, a dental bridge can last from five to 15 years without replacement. If the hardware properly fits, the bridge should not interfere with your speech, and it should make eating easier since you’ve fixed a gap in your teeth. 

The most significant care you can provide for your bridge is staying on top of your oral care routine. Twice daily, brush your teeth for two minutes, floss, and use an antiseptic mouthwash. Visit your dentist every six months for routine cleaning, during which they will check the condition of your bridge to ensure it still fits well.  

 

If you’re interested in filling a gap in your teeth, a trusted dentist can help you navigate your options. In Sacramento, CA, patients turn to Ronald L. Rasmussen, DDS, for all their dental needs. His top tier cosmetic dentistry solutions like dental bridges will provide a fix for your missing teeth, and his team’s wide range of dental care will keep your smile shining bright for years to come. For more information and to schedule an appointment with his team, give them a call today at (916) 689-1100 or use their online form.