Everything You Need to Know About Dental Bridges

Research done by the Canadian Dental Association showed that an average person has two or three missing or decayed teeth at some point in their lifetime. Such dental problems can be taken care of by dental bridges.

You can restore and improve the aesthetic of your smile with the variety of types of bridges present at a dentist’s office. With the guide of a dentist at South Hill Dental, you can choose the best fit for you.

What are Dental Bridges?

A bridge is a false tooth held by the abutment teeth on both sides of the missing tooth. They are meant to replace missing or bridge teeth gaps. Pontics are made from porcelain material and aesthetically blend with your teeth, giving you a brighter smile.

Importance of Dental Bridges

Dental bridges are essential in the following ways:

• Dental bridges help you chew food properly.
• It restores your smile to an aesthetic and healthy one.
• Dental bridges keep the rest of your teeth in their original position and prevent them from moving out to the gaps.
• It also improves your speech, and it helps you pronounce words correctly.
• Dental bridges readjust your bite to distribute the force used when chewing
• It also maintains the shape of your teeth since missing teeth can make your face slag; this can make you look old.

Types of Dental Bridges

The commonest four of the various types of dental bridges in Bolton, ON, include:

• Traditional dental bridges

Traditional dental bridges are the most common and popular fixed dental bridges. They are used if a gap on both sides surrounds your natural teeth. These bridges are made up of porcelain or ceramic material fused to metal which is very strong and can replace molars. However, everything comes with a drawback. Your dentist will have to remove some part of your enamel to create space for the crowns when installing the dental bridges. Once your enamel has been removed, the damage is irreversible, and you will have to use a crown to support your teeth.

• Implant-supported bridges

They are a type of fixed bridge which are supported by implants instead of natural teeth. They are mainly meant for people with more than one missing tooth, or in the case where you want to avoid putting so much pressure on implants. This procedure takes several months because your dentist needs to first create dental implants for the missing teeth and have a series that holds the dental bridges in place.

If it is impossible to place implants for each of the lost teeth, your dentist will use a pontic suspended between two crowns and supported by the crowns.

• Cantilever Bridges

Cantilever bridges are similar to traditional bridges but held in place by an abutment tooth only on one side. A cantilever bridge is used to fill the gap when you have a natural tooth only on one side of your missing tooth.

Like traditional bridges, some part of the enamel has to be removed to create space for the bridge. However, the only drawback is that it has a high chance of complications like a loosened crown or a fractured tooth since the bridges are only supported on one side.

• Maryland dental bridges

These bridges are made from resin and are recommended for front teeth replacement. They use porcelain or resin material to bond the bridge to the back of your teeth. in this case, your enamel does not need to be removed because crowns do not support it.

The disadvantage of these bridges is that they are not durable like traditional bridges and cannot be used on molars as they will wear very quickly due to subjection to a lot of chewing force.

How to Take Care of Dental Bridges

Dental bridges can be taken care of by following the guidelines below:

• Brush them using a soft brush twice a day with fluoride toothpaste.
• Floss once daily and clean under your bridge.
• Eat fruits and vegetables rich in fibre.
• Avoid smoking and tobacco use.
• Avoid sticky and hard foods like caramel, popcorns, ice, candy, or nuts.
• Limit the intake of sugary foods and drinks.
• Use fluoride toothpaste and rinse with an antiseptic rinse.
• Adhere to regular dental visits to your hygienist.