A Dental Bridge Improves Tooth Health and Gives You Back Your Smile
If you have missing teeth, you likely take care not to smile very much. You feel embarrassed whenever anyone notices that your mouth doesn’t look natural, and it’s even worse if someone makes a comment about it. But missing teeth also pose health problems of which you might not be aware. A missing tooth has an impact on the rest of your teeth and your gums as well as your jaw. If you aren’t very careful about practicing good dental hygiene, food left in the open area that once held the tooth can attract bacteria that leads to gum disease. The misalignment in your mouth resulting from the missing tooth may also lead to jaw pain.
A Dental Bridge is a perfect solution to the problems that arise when you have missing teeth. Not only do you avoid potential health problems, but you also improve your smile. A bridge, once known as false teeth, is created when the false tooth, called a pontic, is anchored to existing teeth with the help of crowns. The anchors serve as a bridge for the missing tooth, thereby giving the dental device its name. Both the pontic and the crowns typically are made of one of several different materials, including gold, porcelain, alloys or sometimes a combination of these materials.
Dental Bridges are typically one of three different types of devices. The most common type is the traditional fixed bridge. This is the traditional pontic set between two crowns that are fixed on either healthy teeth or implants. A cantilever bridge is used when teeth are present on only one side of the space left by the missing tooth, such as in the area of the molars. The cantilever bridge is anchored to the permanent teeth on just one side. A resin-bonded, or Maryland-bonded bridge, is most often used in the front of the mouth. It’s made of plastic and is attached to healthy permanent teeth on either side of the pontic with resin that isn’t visible.
Your dentist must prepare your teeth for your new bridge by slightly filing the teeth adjacent to the missing tooth so that the anchor crowns will fit properly. The dentist takes an impression so that the bridge can be manufactured to fit your mouth. You will wear a temporary bridge for a few weeks while the permanent bridge is being made. There is sometimes some sensitivity for a short time after your dentist fits your permanent bridge. However, the benefits of wearing tooth bridges far outweigh the transient discomfort you may feel as you adjust to your new dental device.
