Dental Bridges to Replace Missing Teeth
Dental bridge is a restorative treatment available for replacing missing teeth. As the name implies, the dental bridges fill the gaps present between teeth. Dental bridges consist of 3 crowns. Two crowns serve as abutments to the adjacent teeth present after the gap, while the middle crown act like a false teeth. If adjacent teeth are not healthy to as abutments, dental implants are used. A dental bridge is installed, means abutment crown is fixed on the healthy teeth or implant. The dental bridge can be made from different materials including but not limited to metals (gold and silver), porcelain and porcelain fused metal.
Dental bridge advantages
Restoring missing teeth with bridges has many benefits, some of them are:
- Properly installed and well-maintained dental bridges ensure comfort and aesthetics.
- Bridges can restore the beauty of your smile.
- Dental bridges can improve your speech.
- Since dental bridges are small and light-weight, patients get accustomed with dental bridges in a short span of time.
- Adequately installed dental bridges do not require periodic removal for cleaning.
- This restorative treatment helps in maintaining the shape of your face.
- Dental bridges distribute the bite forces correctly by replacing missing teeth.
- Dental bridges prevent healthy teeth from drifting from their position.
- Dental bridges installation is not time consuming process. They can be installed within a short period of time. Depending on your condition, you need 2 to 3 sessions.
- Patients get excellent chewing comfort after wearing dental bridges.
- Dental bridges last for a long period of time.
What Types of Dental Bridges Are Available?
There are 3 types of dental bridges, they are:
Traditional bridges: These bridges have a crown on either side of the missing tooth. Traditional bridges are the most popular dental bridges, and are made of either porcelain fused metal or ceramics.
Cantilever bridges: These bridges are used when adjacent teeth are present only one side of missing tooth. These are not common type of dental bridges, and are rarely recommended by the dentists. Cantilever bridges exert pressure on the back of the mouth, and damage other teeth.
Bonded bridges: These bridges are also known as resin-bonded bridges. They are generally made from porcelain, and gums are supported by metal framework. Unlike other bridges, bonded bridges are attached to other teeth from one side only.
All you want to know about implants for teeth
In dental implant surgery, the broken, damaged or missing teeth are replaced or made look normal by fixing the implants on screw like posts which are fixed on the roots. When more members of a family needs to undergo dental implants they prefer family implant dentistry as the surgeon and the nursing staff in such a set up will be well trained to cater to the varying dental needs of a family. The cheap tooth implants have proven to be a more reliable and good looking alternative to the erstwhile bridgework or dentures.
Dental implant surgery may consist of several procedures. As this procedure requires your jaw bone to heal completely it may take many months for completion of the processes. As these implants are tightly screwed to the jaw bone, they won’t slip or make noise.
When is it required?
A dental implant may be useful to you in the following situations
- Teeth is missing
- Jaw bone has reached its full growth
- Jawbone is inadequate to secure implants or is not sufficient for bone grafting.
- Oral tissues are healthy
- Teeth condition will not affect healing
- Speech is defective due dental problem
- Ready to undergo several months of process
How to prepare?
As implants for teeth may require more than one surgical procedure, your dentist may require a complete evaluation. He may ask you to take X-rays. Models of your teeth and mouth may be made by him. He may device a treatment plan especially tailor-made according to your personalized needs. If you have any heart problems your implant dentistry may prescribe antibiotics to prevent infection. Your dental care team will instruct about what to eat before surgery and will decide whether general anesthesia or local anesthesia is needed for you.
The procedure
Dental implant surgeries are usually performed as an outpatient service in the following steps.
- Your damaged or broken tooth is removed.
- Jawbone is prepared for surgical procedure in a process which may involve bone grafting.
- After healing of the jawbone, the dental implants are fixed on your jaw bone.
- The healing period for this may extend to months.
- After healing the abutment is placed.
- After oral tissues are healed your dental surgeon will make mould for your teeth and jawbone. After this he will finally place the teeth on it.
- This takes a lot of time as the healing and growing of the new jaw bone has to be completed before fixing the teeth.
What is bone grafting?
If your jaw bone is too soft, you may require grafting. As the chewing action exerts great pressure, if your jaw bone is not able to withstand this pressure, the surgery may fail. Bone grafting helps to create a solid base. In this process a piece of bone removed from other parts of your body say hip, is transplanted to the jaw and allowed to grow there by merging with the original bone. If only minor bone grafting is needed, it is done along with implant surgery.