Bridges
A dental bridge is a false tooth, known as a pontic, which is fused between two porcelain crowns to fill in the area left by a missing tooth. The two crowns holding it in place that are attached onto your teeth on each side of the false tooth. This is known as a fixed bridge. This procedure is used to replace one or more missing teeth. Fixed bridges cannot be taken out of your mouth as you might do with removable partial dentures.
In areas of your mouth that are under less stress, such as your front teeth, a cantilever bridge may be used. Cantilever bridges are used when there are teeth on only one side of the open space. Bridges can reduce your risk of gum disease, help correct some bite issues and even improve your speech. Similarly to crowns and implants, the replacement bridge “tooth” will be matched to the rest of your teeth to give as natural a result as possible.
Bridgework can be constructed from a variety of different materials and we will advise you what is the most appropriate material to use for your specific case.
A dental bridge can offer a permanent solution and when done professionally, can significantly enhance your smile and confidence.
Advantages:
- Less invasive than implants
- More permanent than dentures
- Helps to support adjacent teeth than can start to displace, misalign, tilt and move when a neighbouring tooth is lost
- Are carefully constructed in our dental laboratory to precisely match your original teeth
Disadvantages:
- A small amount of the outer layer of the teeth adjacent to the gap will need to be removed. This is to allow sufficient room for the hollow crown that supports the replacement tooth
- Dependent on how many units or teeth are needed, this can be quite an expensive treatment option.