As much as we try to take care of our dental health, tooth loss happens. Dentists have mastered the art of replacing lost teeth and their toolkits are full of solutions to fit your specific needs.
Statistically speaking, tooth decay could be considered the second most common illness humans suffer from (number one is the common cold). If left untreated, tooth decay can lead to pain and more severe problems such as abscesses or systemic infections, not to mention tooth loss. Data indicates that almost every adult has had tooth decay at some point. Our goal is to reverse this trend, at the very least in our local community. Educating our patients about how tooth decay happens and how to prevent it is how we hope to accomplish this.
One myth seems to have emerged from how we were taught about tooth decay and cavities as children: avoid sugar and you can avoid cavities. The reality is there is no single thing you can do to prevent tooth decay. Rather, preventing cavities is a collection of good habits, maintenance and professional attention. The steps for a decay-free smile, in no particular order, are a healthy diet, a thorough daily hygiene routine and seeing us regularly for teeth cleanings and checkups.
The most common kind of dental bridge is called a traditional bridge. This is a pontic tooth attached to two dental crowns that will cover the adjacent teeth. In order to fit the crowns over the other teeth, the dentist needs to file them down. The crowns (sometimes called abutments) are placed over your reshaped teeth and secured with a composite bonding resin.
A cantilever bridge is similar to a traditional bridge, but the pontic only attaches to one abutment instead of two. Because it is only secured on one side, this bridge is mostly used for teeth in the very back of your mouth.
The last kind of bridge is called a Maryland bridge. Instead of using crowns to secure the pontic, a Maryland bridge uses metal or porcelain bands that attach to nearby teeth with bonding resin. The main benefit of this method is that none of your teeth need to be filed down. The downside is that they are weaker than a traditional bridge and may not be suitable to replace molars, which put a lot more strain on the bridge when chewing.
Once any necessary treatment is complete, the dentist will remove enamel from the supporting teeth to make room for the abutment crowns.
They will make a mould of the area and send it to a lab that will craft your own personalized bridge. This normally takes a few weeks.
While you wait for your custom restoration, you will be given a temporary bridge.
At the final appointment, the dentist will place your permanent bridge and make any necessary adjustments.
