Dental bridge – Importance, Types and Treatment

The dental bridge is used to replace one or more missing teeth in your mouth. Bridges are fixed as they are cemented in their supporting teeth or is may be fixed to the implant which is adjacent to the missing teeth.

What is the importance of replacing the missing teeth?

It is very important to replace the missing teeth. Replacing your missing teeth or restoring your ability to properly chew and speak besides its cosmetic advantages, in addition, space caused by missing teeth may allow your surrounding teeth to sift to you missing space. This sifting could cause misalignment of your bite that can result in a problem in your jaw joint. These jaw joint problems are also known as temporomandibular joint disorder or TMJD.  These sifted teeth are harder to clean making them more susceptible to gum disease, decay or in additional tooth loss.  Because of the availability of the space, opposing tooth also tends to move in the space, resulting in supra-eruption of the opposing tooth. This supra eruption is also a major complication leads the opposing tooth to impinge in the tissue.

 

What is the treatment for missing teeth?

People always ask about the treatment of the missing teeth. Let’s know how the treatment of the missing teeth is done. It normally takes two or more appointment to your dentist to complete your bridge. On your first visit, a local anesthetic is administered to make the procedure more comfortable. On the first visit, supporting teeth typically which are on each side of missing teeth are prepared by shaping or reducing their size. This is done to make room for the crown that will slide over each of the supporting teeth. These crowns also serve as the holder for the pontic (tooth to be replaced), which will replace the missing space.

Next, an impression of the abutment or the prepared supporting teeth is made, so a dental laboratory will custom fit the bridge.

Finally, a temporary bridge is inserted to protect the supporting tooth as well as space between them. In most cases, on the second visit, the permanent bridge is inserted and adjusted to ensure proper fit of the bridge in function and aesthetics. If the fit of the bridge is satisfactory, your dentist will proceed with permanently cementing the bridge.

What should you know before the procedure?

Keep in mind in some instances bridge received back from the lab may not fit as expected. In this case, your dentist may have to take a second impression or readjust the supporting teeth, in order to fix the bridge that fixes just right. This is a rare condition where your bridge doesn’t fit. There may be some technical error behind it.

After the successful completion of the bridge, you may encounter some discomfort or pain on biting.  You may also have some sensitivity to temperature changes for few days. As advised by the dentist you can take over the counter pain medication to alleviate the discomfort.  If these symptoms persist more than a few days, visit your dentist.

Longevity Of the bridge

Please keep in mind, the longevity of the bridge is dependent on a large part of your oral hygiene, diet, and health of the supporting teeth and gum. As well as the quality of material in your bridge. Please ask your dentist for proper brushing and flossing technique.

What are the different options?

1. Full metal bridge

Let’s know about some different options, even though they are rare, a full metal bridge also suitable for replacing the missing tooth in the back of your mouth. Full metal bridges are often the best option for people who wear their teeth excessively.

There are different metal to choose from but as a rule the more precious metal or the gold content in metal, better the fit of the bridge and better the health of the gum around it.

Keep in mind, the fit is an important factor in sealing out the bacteria that tries to get between the bridge and the tooth. Possibly causing decay and premature failure of the bridge. In addition, gold tends to limit the sensitivity of the teeth and inflammation of the gum compare to non-precious metals.

2. Porcelain bridges

Porcelain bridges are generally considered the most aesthetic choice since they closely resemble the color of the tooth. However, porcelain teeth are comparatively more fragile compared to other bridges. Porcelain bridges are most widely used to restore the missing tooth if it is in front of the mouth.

3. Porcelain fused to metal Bridge

The Porcelain gives you the desired aesthetic and metal framework provide better structural support making the porcelain much stronger. This type of hybrid porcelain metal bridge can be used to replace missing teeth in any area of the mouth.