When you were a kid, did you love bridges? We sure did. Bridges helped us move from one place to another. We rode with our parents across small bridges and huge bridges. Bridges help us bridge the gaps between land.
In the same way, bridges can also help us bridge the gaps between missing teeth. If you don’t know what we mean, give us a minute to tell you all about
dental bridges. Smile More Spokane Family Dentistry knows a lot about how a bridge in your mouth can help you look and feel better.
What Are Bridges?
Bridges are prosthetic devices used to replace missing teeth. We generally use them on multiple teeth. Bridges are usually made of a combination of plastic and porcelain. The porcelain, just like in a
dental crown, helps bridges look like real teeth so that no one but your dentist will be able to tell.
How Are Bridges Placed?
We can place bridges in several different ways. There are times that we can place a bridge between two teeth that are already capped. The bridge can be cemented between two crowned teeth. We are also able to cement bridges to natural teeth or dental implants. The bridge just needs to have something stable to hook into.
Are Bridges Really Necessary?
If you are missing a tooth or several teeth, you need to have them replaced. There are several reasons why replacing missing teeth is important. If you have a gap in your mouth caused by missing teeth, it can lead to issues with your remaining teeth. Your remaining teeth may shift to take up the space left by the tooth you are missing. Over time, this can lead to problems with your bite, which may make it harder for you to chew food. You might even develop problems with your
jaw joint. If you don’t replace your missing teeth, you could have bone loss, as well. This would lead to decreased bone density in your jaw, which means that over time, your face shape could even change. None of this is good.
Is There More Than One Kind of Dental Bridge?
There are three kinds of dental bridges. The standard or traditional bridge has metal on the ends that are cemented to your other teeth - whether they are natural teeth, capped teeth, or implanted teeth. The middle of the bridge contains the prosthetic teeth. Once the bridge is cemented in, it becomes part of your mouth and fills in the space left when you lost your teeth.
Another kind of bridge is called the Maryland bridge. One end of the bridge is cemented to your natural tooth or a dental implant. It can also be cemented to a tooth that has been crowned. The other end of the Maryland bridge looks like butterfly wings. Those wings are then bonded to a tooth.
Dr. Bryan Hill will use this bridge with front teeth that are missing because you don’t use a lot of force on your front teeth since you don’t use them for chewing. Sometimes, cantilever bridges are used, but not very often. Cantilever bridges are only cemented to one side of your teeth.
Are you missing teeth? Do you think you might need a bridge? Why not give Smile More Spokane Family Dentistry a call at (509) 505-6303?
