If you are missing a tooth or several teeth, you might wonder what your options are for fixing the gap left in your smile. Tooth insertion is a procedure used to restore the aesthetics and functionality of the teeth. There are many treatment options. In addition to popular dental implants, patients can decide to have a dental prosthesis (dentures) or a prosthetic bridge.
Dentures
Partial or complete dentures are made for people with missing individual teeth, as well as in the case of the complete absence of teeth in the oral cavity. Dentures require the patient to have impeccable oral hygiene. Getting used to their use also takes some time. After a few years, it can become necessary to replace the dentures with new ones because they will change the shape of your supporting gums.
Dental Bridge
Another way to restore a tooth is to make a bridge, which is generally porcelain or ceramic on a metal base. Healthy teeth (so-called abutment teeth) located on both sides of the missing or broken tooth are used to make bridges, which are prosthetic teeth supported by caps on the adjoining teeth. After prior grinding of the adjoining teeth, the bridge is placed on them, essentially giving you at least several “new” teeth. Dental bridges are a solution that many patients appreciate due to their comfort of use and durability. Dental bridges are recommended if you don’t have enough bone to support an implant and a bone graft is not possible. Bridges are also a much cheaper filling than implants.
Advantages of dental bridge
Dental bridges offer a series of advantages for the health, aesthetics, and functionality of the mouth:
- Comfort and naturalness in everyday life: dental bridges are a fixed solution, unlike traditional dentures. They behave like natural teeth and do not need to be removed for cleaning. In other words, they are cleaned by normal tooth brushing.
- Restoration of chewing function: By replacing lost teeth, the person can chew normally and comfortably again, especially when eating harder foods.
- Uniform distribution of forces: By replacing missing teeth, the forces exerted by the teeth are redistributed, which helps to ensure that certain teeth do not receive more loads than recommended. This prevents wear and fractures.
- Maintaining dental alignment: When there is an empty space due to a missing tooth, the neighboring teeth try to occupy the space left behind. This causes the teeth to become misaligned and worsens the dental occlusion.
- Improves the appearance of your smile: missing teeth cause your smile to look more neglected and aged.
- Maintaining facial harmony: Teeth contribute to the shape and structure of the face. Tooth loss can lead to facial changes that worsen the appearance of the face.
- Improved speech: When tooth loss is very severe or affects the anterior (front) part of the teeth, the pronunciation of certain words may be affected.
Some disadvantages to a dental bridge
- Reduction of enamel on adjacent teeth: Most tooth-supported bridges require grinding away the tooth enamel, which is an irreversible process.
- They do not prevent bone resorption: bridges on teeth do not prevent bone resorption in the area where the bridge is located, because they do not provide direct stimulation to the bone. To prevent bone resorption, it is necessary to place dental implants.
In Conclusion
If you are missing teeth and are unable to consider implants, a dental bridge is a wonderful alternative for you. They are minimally invasive and provide complete restoration of your smile. Contact us today to schedule a consultation about your missing teeth and how we can help you!