Dental Bridges – Rocky River Dental
A Lifelike Solution to Close the Space in Your Smile
Tooth loss can detract from your daily quality of life in several ways. For instance, you might struggle to bite and chew, enunciate words, or feel confident about the way you look with gaps in your grin.
Fortunately, our team in Rocky River can provide a lifelike solution to close the space in your smile with a customized dental bridge. These restorations can potentially replace one or several consecutively missing teeth to improve your oral health and upgrade your appearance. Continue reading to learn more about this treatment, and please contact us for additional information.
Why Choose Rockey River Dental for Dental Bridges?
- Members of the American Dental Association
- Resilient, Tooth-Colored Materials
- Flexible Financing Available
What is a Dental Bridge?
A dental bridge is an oral appliance that contains the correct number of pontics (artificial teeth) between two dental crowns that are used to anchor it in place in your mouth. These restorations are typically made from resilient, tooth-colored ceramic or porcelain that reflects light like enamel.
Plus, these durable materials can be customized to match the color, shape, and size of your natural grin for seamless results. This option is often recommended to replace one to four missing teeth in a row, but before proceeding, you must consult with one of our providers to ensure you’re a good candidate.
Types of Dental Bridges
Potentially, anyone missing one or more teeth might benefit from this treatment, but before proceeding, you must schedule an appointment so our team can determine whether this is the best solution to meet your unique needs. Then, we might recommend one of the following options based on our findings:
Traditional Dental Bridge
This is the more common of the two types of dental bridges and requires healthy teeth on either side of the gap in your grin, so it’s not always recommended if you have suffered more severe damage or decay. The dental crowns on your restoration are cemented to your natural enamel to close the gap in your grin.
Implant Bridge
This option combines the convenience of traditional dental bridges with the permanence of dental implants. Typically, two titanium rods are placed in your jaw on both ends of the space in your smile. Then, recovery can take several months because your mouth must produce enough new bone growth to fuse with the biocompatible material, ensuring it remains firmly rooted. We’ll place your restoration once you’ve healed sufficiently.
The Benefits of Getting a Dental Bridge
There are several excellent reasons to consider getting a dental bridge in Rocky River, including:
- Realistic results. Your replacement teeth are carefully customized to look and feel as lifelike as possible, allowing you to look and feel like the most confident version of yourself.
- Durable materials. The resilient ceramic can last 5 to 15+ years if cared for correctly and is less porous than enamel, making it less prone to chipping and staining.
- Enhanced enunciation. This appliance completes your arches, allowing you to form various sounds and words to overcome any speech impediments and communicate more clearly.
- Improved bite force. Your bridge evenly distributes the force exerted when biting and chewing, so you can more easily enjoy a variety of wholesome foods to support your oral and overall well-being.
- Versatile solution. Whether you are missing an individual tooth or several, or prefer the traditional option or dental implants, our team can provide a dental bridge to meet your unique needs.
Dental Bridges FAQs
Can You Take a Dental Bridge Out?
No, because your new dental bridge is designed to remain in your mouth for many years after placement, you cannot remove it yourself. Only a dental professional can.
Some healthcare professionals may refer to partial dentures as “removable bridges,” although this isn’t entirely accurate. Partial dentures are similar to dental bridges; however, one of their key differences is that partials can be removed by the patient at any time, while a dental bridge cannot.
What Are Dental Bridges Made Of?
Generally speaking, dental bridges can be made of the same materials as dental crowns. At Rocky River Dental, we are proud to use tooth-colored materials like acrylic and porcelain. The materials used in your specific prosthetic will depend on your individual needs. Your dentist will explain their reasons for recommending the materials they select for you during your consultation.
Is a Partial Denture the Same as a Bridge?
No, although partial dentures are sometimes referred to as “removable bridges,” they are not the same thing as a traditional fixed dental bridge. That’s because dental bridges are designed to stay in place for many years and can only be removed by a dentist. Conversely, a patient can remove their partial denture at any time.
Furthermore, dental bridges can only replace missing teeth if they’re consecutive, whereas partials can replace several teeth at various places along the arch. Bridges are also anchored in place via crowns that are fitted over two remaining abutment teeth, while partials attach via metal clips or clasps that secure behind the natural teeth.
Your dentist will be happy to review your options with you to determine which tooth replacement option would be best suited to your smile.
How Many Teeth Can a Dental Bridge Replace?
Depending on your individual needs, a dental bridge can replace anywhere from one to four consecutive teeth. However, in most cases they are only used to replace one or two. This is because the longer your bridge extends, the less stable it becomes, especially if your abutment teeth supporting the bridge aren’t strong and healthy. Thus, it may become too risky to have a bridge replace three or more teeth.
Implant bridges can lower this risk, as dental implants are just as strong and secure as real teeth, if not more so.
