Bridges
Bridges are fixed prosthetic devices used to replace one or more missing teeth that have been lost due to decay, injury, or otherwise.
What are Dental Bridges For?
If you have been missing one or more teeth for a long time, the remaining teeth may rotate or shift out of place into the empty spaces. This can lead to a bad bite, and even jaw pain over time. Bridges help fill in the missing gaps, restoring your bite and allowing your teeth to align comfortably.
Benefits of Bridges
Bridges offer a number of benefits:
- Tooth Strengthening – Bridges, just like crowns, have the ability to strengthen your teeth against damaging decay and infection.
- Improves Tooth Appearance – Most bridges are made with porcelain or ceramic, allowing them to appear similarly to your natural teeth. Bridges also fill in gaps that are missing teeth, restoring your smile back to the way it used to be!
- Improves Bite – Dental bridges restore your bite back to normal function by filling in for teeth that are no longer present.
- Improves Teeth Alignment – Bridges have the ability to help re-align your teeth; over time, surrounding teeth may shift into the spaces where missing teeth used to be. Bridges prevent the remaining teeth from further shifting away from their natural alignment.
Creating and Installing a Bridge
Before we prepare you for a bridge, we will first reduce the size of your teeth in order for the bridge to comfortably fit over your teeth properly. Similarly to crowns, we will then take impressions and samples of your teeth to send to a dental laboratory in order for them to create a custom bridge for you. Likewise, we will provide you with a temporary crown or bridge until your permanent bridge is ready. On your next visit, we will then cement and attach the newly created bridge over your teeth.
