Why Do You Need a Dental Bridge?
Countless people are being plagued by missing teeth. Missing teeth is one of the prevalent dental issues in the country. Your mouth was never designed to have missing teeth. That’s why you will have to deal with issues such as poor enunciation, chewing problems, indigestion, deteriorating jaw bone, and so on. Let’s not even get started on your dental aesthetics!
Living with missing teeth shouldn’t be a norm in this day and age, while there is a myriad of tooth replacement options that you can take advantage of, such as dental bridges in Auburn, WA.
Dental bridges that our dentist in 98001 offers are an excellent alternative to partial dentures, especially if you don’t fancy the idea of having removable teeth. Bridges are a permanent tooth replacement option as compared to conventional dentures.
How Do Tooth Bridges Work?
In a nutshell, a tooth bridge is designed to cover the space created by the missing teeth. That’s why they are referred to as tooth bridges, since they “bridge” the gap. The bridges are used to correct functional and aesthetic problems.
Tooth bridges are made of two distinct parts, the artificial tooth, and two tooth crowns. The artificial tooth (pontic) is placed in between the crowns and is the one that occupies or fills the space left by your missing tooth. The purpose of the two crowns is to hold the bridge in place.
This is where the other component of tooth bridges comes in. Your natural teeth adjacent to the space left by the missing tooth are used to secure the crowns in place. These teeth are usually referred to as abutment teeth.
The only issue is that these teeth have to be prepared to accommodate the crowns. Therefore, some tooth enamel has to be removed, making the process irreversible.
Who Needs a Dental Bridge?
Tooth bridges are beneficial to anyone missing a tooth or several teeth. Tooth loss usually occurs mainly because of gum disease, tooth decay, accidents, or old age. In some cases, some people are born with missing teeth because of a congenital problem.
Why Do You Need a Bridge?
As stated earlier, your mouth was never designed to have missing teeth. Teeth should work together. If you have missing teeth, the nearby teeth begin shifting to fill the space. This is also the case with the teeth in the opposite jaw; they can either move up or down to fill the space. You might experience chewing difficulties, bite problems, self-consciousness, and pain from the extra stress on your jaw and teeth when this happens.
Types of Dental Bridges
Once you have opted to go for tooth bridges, you have another challenge; choosing the dental bridge. During your dental visit, our dentist will discuss with you the available options, and they are:
- Traditional Bridges. Thus far, these are the bridges that are used the most. They are an excellent choice when you have healthy teeth on either side of the gap. They are made of an artificial tooth and two crowns.
- Cantilever Bridges. These bridges and traditional bridges are quite similar. The only difference is that these bridges have one crown instead of two.
- Maryland Bridges. With these bridges, the artificial tooth is attached to a porcelain framework instead of crowns
- Implant-supported bridges. This bridge doesn’t rely on your natural teeth for anchorage, but they use dental implants that are inserted into the jawbone.
How Are They Placed?
Getting a tooth bridge is straightforward and pain-free. You might need to set aside some time to get them since they require no less than two dental visits before you get your new pearly whites.
Our dentist in 98001 places the tooth bridge using the following steps:
- Our dentist will examine whether you have healthy teeth on either side of the space. If they are okay, they will be filed down to get them ready for the dental bridge
- Next, tooth impressions or molds will be taken to aid in crafting your dental bridge. This will ensure that the bridge is a perfect match for your teeth
- Our dentist will fix a temporary bridge to protect the exposed teeth and gums
- On your next dental visit, our dentist will remove the temporary bridge and place the customized dental bridge on your abutment teeth
Just like that, you will have new pearly whites, and you can bid farewell to the dental issues that arise because of missing teeth.