A dental bridge is a restoration used to replace a missing tooth. It has been one of the top ways to replace missing teeth for decades. A bridge will help improve your smile while also helping to protect other teeth from damage. If you’re interested in replacing a missing tooth, talk to your dentist about the option of dental bridges in Providence, RI.
While restoring a tooth is aesthetically pleasing for most people, that’s not the only reason it should be done. Nor is it the most important reason. Here’s why you should consider replacing a missing tooth with a dental bridge.
You need a complete set of teeth to chew your food thoroughly. When you have one or more missing teeth, chewing becomes more difficult. You might even avoid some of your favorite foods or even healthy, nutrient-dense foods because they’re too hard to chew.
Replacing a missing tooth restores your ability to thoroughly chew your food with comfort and allows you to eat a full range of healthy foods.
When there’s an empty space along your jawbone, adjacent teeth will slowly shift to fill in the space. The shift can throw your bite out of proper alignment, putting excess pressure on some teeth and your jaw joint. Bite misalignment can result in chipped, cracked, or even broken teeth.
By replacing your missing teeth with a dental bridge from Comfort Dental, you can keep your bite aligned and prevent further damage.
Bite misalignment isn’t always painful, but it can result in tooth or jaw pain for some patients. TMJ disorder (a jaw joint disorder) is often the result of a misaligned bite. Symptoms of this condition include chronic headaches and migraines, difficulty chewing, and sore teeth.
Replacing missing teeth with dental bridges keeps your bite aligned, taking excess pressure and strain off the muscles, tendons, and ligaments of your head and neck.
A dental bridge consists of three parts: Two abutments and a pontic.
The abutments are the teeth that support the dental bridge. In the case of a three-unit bridge, you’ll have one abutment on either side of the missing tooth. Crowns are fabricated to fit over these teeth. The pontic – the fake tooth replacing the missing tooth – is in the middle, and all three parts are fused together.
There are four types of dental bridges.
Traditional bridge: This bridge consists of at least two abutments and two pontics. In some cases, it consists of more if there are more missing teeth. This is the most common type of dental bridge.
Cantilever bridge: This bridge consists of only one abutment crown and one pontic. It is used when the patient only has teeth on one side of the missing tooth space.
Maryland bridge: This bridge is made of a pontic with wings on its back. The wings are bonded to the back of the adjacent teeth. The Maryland bridge is for patients missing a front tooth.
Implant-supported bridge: Similar to the traditional bridge, the implant-supported bridge is supported by two implants that serve as abutments.
Dental bridges can last five to seven years. However, with good home care and regular dental check-ups, it is possible to extend the life of a bridge beyond 10 years.
Replacing a missing tooth will help improve your smile and contribute to the health of your remaining teeth. Your Comfort Dental dentist will discuss your dental bridge options to determine which one fits your needs best.
Are you interested in replacing a missing tooth with a dental bridge?
Contact our team to set up a consultation today!
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