Dental bridges are made up of two crowns on either side of the a gap. Both these anchoring teeth are known as abutment teeth with a false tooth in between. Pontics is the name given to the false teeth and they are made up of alloys, gold, porcelain, and the combination of other materials. These dental bridges are supported either by dental implants or natural teeth.
Benefits of dental bridges include the following:
- They would maintain the shape of your face and jaw.
- They can restore your smile.
- They can also prevent teeth from drifting out of the position.
- They are capable of restoring the ability to properly speak and chew.
- Would help distribute the forces in your bite properly by replacing the missing teeth.
A bridge is a fixed removable denture and will replace one or more missing teeth. These bridges are supported by implants, natural teeth, and a combination of implants and teeth. A traditional bridge can be made by creating a cap or crown for the tooth on either side of the space and will place a false tooth in between the crowns. These crowns are supported by implants and natural teeth. So the false teeth will be attached to the crowns and fill the empty area.
If the teeth which are receiving the crowns are strong and healthy, they probably will not require root canal therapy. But parts of the teeth must be removed to make some space for the crowns. Traditional bridges are made either by ceramics or by porcelain fused to metal (PFM).
There are several other types of bridges including the cantilever bridge which is held in the mouth by one or two crowns only on one side of the space where actually a tooth is missing. There is another type which consists of a metal framework with wings on either side and is called a Maryland bonded bridge. The wings on either side are bonded to the back of your existing teeth. Here, the false teeth are bonded to the framework. So this type of bridge is also known as an acid-etched bridge or a resin-bonded bridge.
Traditional bridges are more expensive than bonded bridges. This is because the adjacent teeth require very less preparation and do not get crowns usually. More than two visits are needed in order to get a bridge. The dentist would prepare your teeth for the second visit and will cover them with temporary crowns. Some dentists might also make impressions of your teeth at this stage.
During the next visit, the temporary bridge will be removed and the new one will be checked and adjusted to get a proper fit. Multiple visits are required to check the fit of bite and framework. This might vary with each individual. Your dentist will temporarily cement the permanent bridge for a couple of weeks in order to check if it is fitting correctly. So in the next appointment, the bridge will be permanently cemented into the place if it is getting a proper fit.