Dental bridges are dental restorations that are made to fill the gaps from missing teeth and help to fully restore the function in the mouth. On both sides of the gap, there should be natural teeth or dental implants that will support the bridge. The bridge consists of two or more crowns that are placed on the natural teeth, and the gaps are filled with false teeth.

Dental bridges are made of several crowns. Once there are one or several missing teeth in the mouth, the patient is probably eligible to get a bridgework restoration. The only thing that is important is that the gap has to be limited to at least two remaining teeth. Bridges are fixed restorations, which means that once they are placed, the patient won’t be able to remove them.

Parts of a bridge:

Every dental bridge consists of several parts. The teeth that are located on both sides of the gap are called abutment teeth. They are the ones that accept the masticatory pressure and transfer it to the surrounding tissues. These two or more teeth will be covered with crowns. The crowns are known as anchor or retainer crowns. They are first prepared by the dentist and reduced in size. The gap is also filled with false teeth known as pontics or artificial.

Procedure:

The procedure starts with a visit to the dental office. During this checkup, the dentist will be able to advise you whether bridges are the best option for your case. If that is the final conclusion, you can choose between different types of materials. Metals, composite, porcelain are the three most common materials used. When the patient has made a choice, the dentist starts preparing the remaining teeth that will be a part of the bridge. He will reduce them so they can be covered with a crown. The following step includes an impression, that is later sent to the dental lab. That is where technicians create the bridge, and once it’s done it can be placed in the mouth.

Importance:

Dental bridgework is of high importance in dentistry. Thanks to these constructions dentists can add teeth to toothless gaps and restore the normal functions of patients. So aside from the aesthetic moment, where these restorations provide a beautiful smile, their meaning is much larger. First of all, the patient will be able to bite, eat and chew like before. A lot of people have very low self-esteem after they lose their natural teeth, so that can cause a lot of problems in their life. Fortunately, with bridges, all of those problems will go away. They can restore a bad smile, into a gorgeous one, with perfect white teeth. Patients will be able to speak clearly and pronounce everything just like before. The restoration of missing teeth with bridges prevents further damage to the remaining teeth and to all the surrounding structures in the mouth. Thanks to these fixed restorations the whole balance in the oral cavity is once again back.