Bridges

Dental Bridges

Why do I Need a Bridge?

All of your teeth play an important role in speaking, chewing and in maintaining proper alignment of other teeth. Tooth loss can happen for any number of reasons such as trauma, non-repairable decay, etc. If you’re missing one or more teeth, you may be aware of their importance to your appearance and dental health. Your teeth work together for many daily functions from eating to speaking. With missing teeth, it’s difficult to do these things clearly and effectively. A great way to fill the gap left by one or more missing teeth is a dental bridge.

Dental health is the most important reason for needing a bridge because teeth were designed to complement each other. Unusual stresses are placed on the gums and other oral tissues when teeth are missing, causing a number of potentially harmful disorders. Increased risk of gum disease has proven to be one of the worst side effects of missing teeth and can be minimized with a bridge.

How is a Bridge Attached?

A dental bridge is a fixed dental restoration used to replace a missing tooth (or several teeth) by joining an artificial tooth permanently to adjacent teeth.A traditional bridge is made by creating a crown for the teeth on either side of the space and placing a false tooth, or teeth, between the crowns. The crowns can be supported by natural teeth or by implants. The false tooth, or teeth, are attached to the crowns and fill the empty space.

The attachment procedure usually takes two or three appointments to complete. At the first appointment,Dr. Demetriouwill prepare the teeth on both sides of the gap by removing a portion of the enamel and dentin. Since the bridge must be fabricated very precisely to ensure the correct bite and to match the opposing tooth, impressions of the teeth are taken and sent to a lab where the bridge will be constructed. Fixed bridges are typically cemented to the natural teeth next to the space left by the missing tooth. A pontic (false tooth) replaces the lost tooth. Crowns, which are cemented onto the natural teeth, provide support for the bridge.