Blog

If you have one or more missing teeth, your dentist may fill the gap using a dental bridge. It is an artificial tooth (called a pontic) that is anchored into place using each adjacent tooth on the side of the gap. The procedure is quick and takes only two dental appointments, making it a highly convenient tooth replacement choice.

There are several reasons why a dentist may recommend a bridge as the best option. This article discusses it in detail.

When are Dental Bridges Recommended?

Your dentist may recommend a dental bridge when you have one or more missing teeth due to gum disease, severe decay, or mouth injury. The missing teeth may also be due to a genetic condition.

It is essential to have healthy teeth on either side of the gap to get a dental bridge. Here are some situations when this might be the right solution for you.

Health Condition

Your health is crucial in determining a suitable treatment for your missing teeth. Here are some of the medical conditions when your dentist may recommend a dental bridge:

Convenient and Quick Procedure

Bridges are the best option for those who want a fast, reliable and less invasive replacement for their missing teeth. The procedure restores your aesthetically pleasing smile in two appointments, unlike dental implants, which take a minimum of two months to restore your natural smile. It involves integrating false tooth roots into the jawbone using a surgical procedure.

Number and Location of Missing Teeth

If you have no more than three teeth missing in a row, the dentist might suggest getting a crown. For a dental bridge, you must have strong teeth on either side of the space for adequate support. In addition, the bridges are usually preferred for the front row of teeth as they can withstand the force of biting and chewing and will never slip out of place.

How Do Dental Crowns Work with Dental Bridges?

Crowns are an essential part of the dental bridge procedure. A bridge consists of two crowns attached to the teeth on either side of the gap (abutment teeth) and supports the pontics, filling the gap.

During your first appointment, the abutment teeth are trimmed to make room for the bridges. Then impressions and moulds are taken of your teeth to build a custom bridge with crowns that perfectly fit your trimmed teeth and are attached using dental cement.

Pain After the Procedure

As local anesthetic is used before the procedure, you should not feel the pain. But you will need to keep your mouth open for a few hours, which may make you feel discomfort and soreness in your jaw. Over-the-counter pain relievers will usually take care of it, and placing an ice pack outside your jaw will also help.

Recovery

A major advantage of a dental bridge is that it requires minimal recovery. You can normally eat soon after the bridge placement, and most patients do not experience any trouble adapting to the bridge.

Why Choose a Dental Bridge Over a Partial Denture?

Partial dentures are removable, whereas bridges are fixed into place as a permanent replacement for natural teeth. Here are some of the benefits of bridges:

How Will I Know If My Dental Bridge Needs a Repair or Replacement?

Dental bridges are a long-term solution, and they can stay in place without any problem for 5 to 15 years. A few factors can reduce the comfort and effectiveness, which include:

You must contact your dentist as soon as you experience:

Your dental care specialist will assess the issue and recommend a plan of action. It generally involves just an adjustment or minor repair. If the bridge is broken or has a problem with the abutment teeth, you may have to replace it with a new one. It is crucial to visit your dentist to prevent the problem from worsening.

Experience the Best Dental Service in Mississauga

Trillium Smile Dentistry provides a full range of dental care services with the primary objective of helping patients preserve their oral health, teeth longevity, and naturally pleasing smile. If you are searching for an expert dental bridge service or “cosmetic dental crowns near me,” Trillium Smile Dentistry is the place to go. When you visit our clinic, we will walk you through the process to put you at ease. You can rest assured that our expert dentists will deliver transformational smile makeovers.

Contact us today to learn more about our dental care services or to book an appointment. We will be glad to answer any queries you may have.

While adult teeth can last a lifetime, many Canadians will lose at least one to injury, decay, gum disease, or oral health problems. In addition to the mental distress it causes, this loss can have significant health impacts too. Fortunately, modern dentistry has come up with several excellent solutions to replace a missing tooth. Today, we will examine some of these problems and solutions in further detail to help you decide how to handle your missing tooth troubles.

5 Problems a Missing Tooth Can Create

Missing teeth are more than just a cosmetic problem. People who lose a tooth are at risk for many secondary issues that can be devastating to their physical and emotional health.

Drifting Teeth

Teeth are held in position partly by the presence of the other teeth around them. If one of them is missing, the teeth around it can begin to drift out of alignment. Opposing teeth that no longer have the steady pressure of their counterpart to keep them from pushing out of the gums may over-erupt and leave you with one tooth that is significantly longer than all the rest. Teeth can even tilt sideways into the gap, making it impossible to chew with them.

Bone Loss

Your jawbone relies on stimulation and feedback from your teeth to remain healthy. When a tooth is missing, the bone below the tooth does not get this feedback. This can cause it to begin deteriorating below the gumline. Eventually, this bone loss can become so severe that the teeth around it could become unstable. It can also make it more difficult to replace those missing teeth with prosthetics, although this can usually be fixed with a bone graft.

Difficulty Eating and Speaking

The main purpose of teeth is to help you chew your food properly. If one or more are missing, the others will have to work harder to make up for the loss. You will not be able to chew properly in the area with the missing tooth and will have to shift food around in your mouth to avoid it. You may also not be able to eat hard or chewy foods like crusty bread and steak.

Teeth also serve a function in speech. Your tongue makes contact with them in order to produce certain sounds. If you are missing teeth, it may be difficult for you to speak clearly enough to be understood. You may also produce a whistling sound when you speak.

Facial Changes

Tooth loss leads to bone loss, and bone loss changes the shape of your face. Although the changes usually do not become visible for many years, bone degradation will eventually cause you to lose much of the definition of your jaw. It can also make your cheeks look sunken and cause premature wrinkling around the lips.

Decreased Self-Esteem

Having a visible missing tooth can take a toll on a person’s self-esteem. You may feel too self-conscious to smile and laugh freely or even to eat or speak around other people. This can lead to intense loneliness and feelings of isolation.

5 Options for Replacing a Missing Tooth

You do not have to suffer the negative effects of a missing tooth. There are many dental prosthetics available, and many of them are nearly impossible to distinguish from a real tooth.

Dental Implants

Dental implants are prosthetic teeth that are anchored by a screw that has been surgically implanted in your jawbone.

It takes several months to receive an implant, making it a sub-optimal choice for people who need a more immediate solution. Implants are also costly and may be out of some people’s budgets.

On the other hand, implants also offer exceptional aesthetics and utility. They look, feel, and function almost exactly like a natural tooth. They are considered the gold standard of tooth replacement prosthetics and are always worth considering if you are healthy enough to undergo the placement process.

Tooth-Supported Bridges

Tooth-supported bridges are bridges that are anchored by the teeth on either side of the missing tooth. They can be used to replace a single tooth or multiple teeth at a time.

Tooth-supported bridges offer very good aesthetic results. They are also less invasive and more affordable than implants. However, they do have some downsides.

Tooth-supported bridges require your abutment teeth to be filed down to accommodate the bridge, sacrificing healthy tooth enamel that you could have kept for many years. This may damage the teeth and make them more susceptible to decay under the crowns. Food may also become trapped under the bridge, leading to gum irritation in the affected spots.

Implant-Supported Bridges

Implant-supported bridges are attached to implant screws instead of abutment teeth. They offer all of the same benefits that dental implants do but can be used to replace several missing teeth in a row.

Implant-supported bridges look like natural teeth and are easy to chew and speak with. They can also be expensive and require many appointments to place the implant screws and install the crowns.

Removable Partial Dentures

Removable partial dentures are thin plates of plastic with false teeth attached to them. They are worn inside your mouth so that the false teeth fill in the gaps in your arch. You can remove them at any time.

These prosthetics are minimally invasive and can be used to replace several teeth at once. They are also affordable and easy to repair or replace.

Unfortunately, removable partial dentures can be uncomfortable to wear. They have little to anchor them in your mouth, so they may slip and slide around while you are wearing them. They are bulky and may make it difficult for you to speak and chew naturally. They also need to be removed and cleaned every night, adding additional maintenance to your dental routine.

Flippers

Flippers are prosthetics similar to removable partial dentures. They have no metal clasps to help anchor them and can flip into and out of place in your mouth.

Flippers are very light and relatively inexpensive, making them an excellent temporary missing tooth replacement. However, they are not made to serve as a permanent replacement for a tooth. They can be uncomfortable to wear and will break much more quickly than a professionally made prosthetic.

Replace Your Missing Tooth with Beautiful Prosthetics from Trillium Smile Dentistry

If you are ready to replace your missing tooth, you will need to get in touch with a skilled dentist by contacting Trillium Smile Dentistry. We work with patients who are missing teeth all the time, and we have helped them restore their smiles with gorgeous prosthetics that provide superior aesthetics and function. Let us help you feel proud to smile again.

Tooth loss is a common dental condition seen among patients. Losing a tooth to injury, gum disease, or decay can impact your facial appearance and compromise your ability to speak and chew normally. Many people who have lost a tooth worry about it constantly and become self-conscious, afraid to let anyone see the gap in their smile.

Dental implants can be used to replace missing teeth and correct these problems. Many patients report that getting dental implants has had a significant impact on their quality of life. Some forget that they were ever missing a tooth in the first place. Our guide will teach you everything you need to know about dental implants, including what they do, how they are placed, and why they are the right choice to replace your missing tooth.