What are Dental Bridges?

Having a gap toothed smile is a thing of the past. Missing teeth usually cause a wide range of insidious changes in the bite, migrating teeth as well as temporomandibular joint disorders, speech difficulties, gum problems and tooth decay. But now with rapid advances in the field of dentistry, dentists replace multiple missing teeth by using tooth colored dental bridges. There are different types of dental bridges like cantilever bridges which utilize a single tooth as support, conventional bridges which use two teeth as support or even resin bonded bridges which are extremely lifelike.

But for all varieties of bridges, teeth adjoining the missing teeth are shaped to provide support and then a fixed three unit bridge is placed with the central missing tooth or pontic. On the first visit, your dentist will judge the condition of the supporting teeth to prepare the dental bridge. If the support teeth are decayed or diseased, they will have to be restored before tooth preparation for the bridge can start. Once the support teeth have been adequately prepared, the teeth measured for a dental impression using putty like material and then the material is sent to a laboratory. The laboratory technicians prepare custom bridges for your teeth and these are then cemented permanently in place. You will have to visit the dentist for atleast four visits to complete the dental bridge procedure. Multiple visits may also be required depending on the patient’s occlusion or bite and the number of teeth being replaced.