Effective dental care focuses largely on preventing dental health issues like tooth decay and gum disease from developing and irreversibly damaging your smile. Unfortunately, professional dentistry often entails replacing one or more teeth that are lost or can no longer function due to extensive damage or disease. A dental bridge replaces a lost tooth, or several lost teeth in a row, to restore your ability to bite, chew, and enunciate words properly, as well as smile with confidence again. In fact, today’s dental bridges are custom-designed to address every patient’s unique needs, including implant-supported bridges that rest on surgically inserted prosthetic teeth roots.
How a Traditional Dental Bridge Works
Traditionally, a dental bridge consists of the appropriate number of replacement teeth bordered on either side by lifelike porcelain dental crowns. The crowns are bonded to the remaining healthy teeth adjacent to the gap (called abutment teeth), holding the bridge in place. In most cases, the dental crowns and replacement teeth that comprise a bridge are crafted out of innovative dental porcelain. The semi-translucent material is layered to mimic tooth enamel’s light-reflecting properties and tinted to the exact shade and color of your healthy teeth. If you’ve lost several teeth in non-adjacent spaces, then your dentist may recommend a partial denture, which fits around remaining teeth to fill in the scattered gaps in a patient’s smile.
Dental Bridges Supported by Implants
In the art of replacing lost teeth, nature is the best teacher. Healthy teeth are supported by roots that extend underneath the gum tissue and into the upper and lower jawbone (maxilla and mandible, respectively). The embedded roots allow teeth to effectively absorb repeated bite pressure, and when stimulated, the roots facilitate healthy blood flow to the jaw. As prosthetic teeth roots, dental implants are surgically inserted into your jawbone, with connective posts protruding above the gum line to connect the appropriate dental appliance. While modern dental bridges replace the visible parts of teeth (crowns), dental implants provide lifelike support for your dental bridge for improved stability, function, and comfort.
Ask Your Dentist Which Bridge is Right for You
Whether you need a traditional bridge or wish for the more comprehensive benefits of dental implant-supported restoration, speak with your dentist about your options. To schedule a consultation, call Just Wright Dental in Corsicana, TX, today by calling (903) 225-2221. We also proudly welcome patients from Waxahachie, Mildred, Eureka, Ennis, Fairfield, Teague, Blooming Grove, Dawson, Hubbard, Hillsboro, Mexia, Groesbeck, Kerens, Malakoff, Rice, Centerville, Buffalo, and Athens.