Dental Bridges
Made to match the color of your natural teeth.
Dental Bridges serve to close the gap between two healthy teeth. The gap can be because of one or more missing teeth. A dental bridge is made of two crowns and false teeth in between. If a single tooth is missing, then only one false tooth is present in between. If many teeth are missing in a row, the dental bridge can have multiple false teeth in between the two crowns.
Whatever be the case, the crowns are placed on top of the two healthy teeth for stability. The healthy teeth that get the crown and provide support is called abutment teeth and the false teeth in between are called pontics. Bridges are predominantly made of porcelain. They are also made of gold, steel and other metal alloys.
Life of Dental Bridges
It can be safely assumed that dental bridges last for 5-6 years. However if proper oral hygiene is maintained and periodic dental visits are not missed, they can last for a decade too.
Advantages of Dental Bridges
- They are cost-effective when compared to dental implants though they cannot match the superiority of the dental implants
- They can restore the ability to speak properly which hitherto was affected due to missing teeth
- Missing teeth can cause shifting of teeth from the current position and dental bridges can arrest this shifting process.
- Aesthetically speaking, they can restore your smile and your facial structure
Disadvantages of Dental Bridges
- The bone loss in the jaw region in the missing teeth area is not arrested. The jaw bones continue to recede.
- Some enamel coating of the healthy adjacent teeth is lost due to the crown being laid (support) on them.