Dental Bridge Options
A dental bridge fills the gap created by missing teeth. It resembles natural teeth in shape, color, and alignment. A fixed bridge serves as a permanent solution, while a removable bridge can be taken out for eating and sleeping. Teeth play a crucial role in maintaining oral health. They keep each other aligned, ensuring a comfortable bite, facilitating chewing, and promoting clear speech. Replacing missing teeth is essential to prevent further tooth loss and maintain quality of life.
Why Do I Need a Dental Bridge?
Tooth loss can lead to significant changes in your mouth over time. Many people mistakenly believe that teeth remain stable in their sockets. In reality, teeth depend on their neighbors for support. When a neighboring tooth is lost, the remaining teeth may shift into the gap.
When teeth shift, your bite can change. A proper bite occurs when the upper and lower arches fit together comfortably. Losing teeth can disrupt this balance, leading to various issues, such as:
- Cracked teeth
- Jaw pain
- TMJ (Temporomandibular Joint) problems
- Further tooth loss
Replacing lost teeth helps prevent these complications. Addressing tooth loss promptly can save you from costly and detrimental health issues.
Types of Dental Bridges
Dental bridges come in two main types: removable and fixed. Removable bridges are more affordable but require additional care. With a removable bridge, you must take it out to eat and sleep. This type does not eliminate the discomfort of eating without teeth. At night, you should clean the appliance and soak it in a dental solution.
Fixed bridges offer a permanent solution and allow you to eat with fully functional replacements. To place a fixed bridge, we use two healthy teeth on either side of the gap as anchors. If no healthy teeth are available, we can place a dental implant in your jaw to serve as an anchor.
What Is the Procedure Like?
At Hunsaker Dental, we provide a straightforward bridge reconstruction and placement process, typically requiring two visits.
The First Visit
During the first visit, we take impressions and create a mold of the teeth or gap to be filled. We send this mold to our dental lab to begin crafting your bridge.
After taking measurements, we prepare the anchor teeth. A fixed bridge requires at least two healthy teeth as anchors. If only one healthy tooth exists, we can place dental implants to serve as anchors. This implant procedure takes several months.
To prepare the anchor teeth, we remove a thin layer of enamel to create a suitable shape for the bridge. We then place a temporary bridge over the prepared teeth, securing it with temporary dental cement until the permanent bridge is ready.
The Second Visit
During the second visit, we remove the temporary bridge and place the permanent one on your anchor teeth. We secure it with permanent dental adhesive, allowing you to use your bridge just like natural teeth.
Please Call us Today at Salem: 503-877-1598Â or Monmouth: 503-877-1590 to schedule an appointment or if you have any questions about Fixed or Removable Dental Bridges. Don’t forget to visit our Facebook