Dental bridge uses teeth adjacent to a gap to help replace a missing tooth. The adjacent teeth often have a dental crown attached & to this the false tooth is fused. In the image (left) you see a three unit bridge which goes - crown fused to false tooth fused to crown. Dental bridges can vary in span from 2 units (a cantilever bridge) to many more units. In some cases these bridges can be made out of porcelain. In other cases to help save tooth a metal fused to porcelain bridge is a better option. nb you don’t generally see any metal, just the porcelain. The teeth on either side of the missing tooth are prepared for dental crowns, an impression is taken, and this is sent to a dental technician who then makes an accurate model of your teeth and the gap. The technician then makes the dental crowns and fuses a false porcelain tooth between the two crowns – this is called a 3 unit bridge. This is then cemented onto the teeth adjacent to the gap. Whilst the bridge is being made your teeth are protected with temporary restorations.
The advantages of a bridge are -
- It is cemented in place and is therefore not removable.
- It is stable, and feels similar to your own teeth.
- In most cases it can be made to look like you never had a tooth missing.
The disadvantage is that you have to treat two teeth besides the one that was extracted – these teeth may otherwise be perfectly sound & ordinarily not require crowns.
Click here for more options for Replacing a Missing Tooth.
See more if you want to know what a Dental Crown is
Maryland Bridge
Another bridge option is a Maryland bridge. This is the least expensive type of bridge. These bridges are bonded to the adjacent teeth with metal wings that attach on the inside surface of the tooth ie you generally can’t see the metal wings. These bridges do not tend to last as long as a “conventional” bridge & there is a cost involved in recementing them periodically.
All our Dentists provide dental bridges
Click here to view our dental bridges gallery