A guide to dental bridges to replace teeth and rebuild healthy, beautiful smiles
At Sky Dental, we stand by our work so much that we offer a 100% guarantee on our treatments and services. Individuals and their families throughout the Littleton area can trust the quality of dental work, including bridges.
Dental bridges
For starters, Drs Cristiana and Flaviu Oltean can prevent the need for dental bridges in the first place. Bridges are a type of tooth replacement. They are required to fill in gaps left by extracted or missing teeth. During ongoing, regular dental check-ups, they can detect and intervene with problems early before a tooth is threatened. Now, should the structural integrity of a decayed, broken, or otherwise damaged tooth be compromised, we will want to discuss options for promptly replacing the affected tooth. Missing teeth can lead to all sorts of complications, including the shifting of neighboring teeth and the erosion of jawbone (bone loss or “resorption”).
The process
Dental bridges have been around for a long time. Generally, a bridge to replace one tooth is made from two crowns. These crowns are placed on the neighboring “abutment” teeth. These crowned abutments function to support the replacement tooth or “pontic.” The bridge is applied as a single unit, with two crowns fused to either side of the pontic. Once Drs Cristiana or Flaviu cement the crowns to the prepared abutments, the pontic fills in the space that used to exist after a tooth was extracted or fell out.
There are many variations in the design of the dental bridge. The best option for you depends on your unique needs and personal preferences. For instance, bridges may be used to replace a few teeth or groups of missing teeth. This approach simply requires the addition of other pontics or replacement teeth to the bridge.
Implant bridges
Dental implants are artificial tooth roots. They are cylindrical-shaped posts placed in the jawbone. Designed from biocompatible materials (such as titanium), implants integrate or join naturally to the surrounding bone in the jaw. Once the implant has healed, it can be used to stabilize (or “root”) the replacement tooth or dental bridge in the jaw. If you need to replace several or all of the teeth in the upper and lower jaw, a few strategically-positioned implants may be used to hold the bridge or denture in place.
Patients appreciate implant-supported bridges because they preserve the maximum remaining tooth structure. They do not require the reduction of natural abutment teeth, as is the case when placing traditional dental bridges. Additionally, they do not require special care. They look and feel like natural teeth and halt or prevent the devastating effects of bone loss. When cared for with good hygiene at home and regular visits to our office in Littleton, implant-supported bridges can last a lifetime!
Call Sky Dental at (303) 979-9488 to schedule your complimentary, no-strings-attached consultation. Or you may request an appointment anytime or night from this website.
