Do I Need a Dental Bridge?

Do I Need a Dental Bridge? Are you missing a tooth, or more than one? Does it ever embarrass you or affect your smile, eating, or talking? A dental bridge may improve these areas and increase your health and confidence. If you have to get a tooth extracted now for any reason, a bridge may be a way to put it back.

Where a tooth is missing, a dental bridge will “bridge“ the gap between teeth. You may have lost teeth through decay, by accident, or gum disease, or maybe one never even came in. A bridge can’t work in every case of a missing tooth, but a bridge could be the answer for you.

Filling the gap improves appearance, chewing, and speaking. A bonus is that a bridge will prevent neighboring teeth from moving into the gap. You can also replace a tooth with a removable tooth, but we will describe the permanent, or fixed , bridges here. 

There are three different types of fixed bridges. Let’s learn about how this treatment can improve your smile and comfort, and if it’s right for you. The bridge types are:

This fixed, or permanent bridge is non-removable. It has a crown on each tooth next to the gap. The teeth are made of ceramic, ceramic on a metal base, or entirely metal. If metal is used, it is usually a gold alloy. The crowns anchor the new tooth in the gap.

The implant bridge adds teeth between two dental implants. Implants are placed in the gap and after healing, a bridge is attached to the implants. The bridge is non-removable and is capable of replacing several missing teeth.

This type of bridge may be called a Maryland bridge. It’s made from ceramic that’s fused to metal. On each side of the replacement tooth is a metal wing that is bonded, or glued, to the back of the neighboring teeth.

These bridges will typically stay bonded for many years, but once they come off they never stick quite as well or stay on as long when rebonded. They are no longer used much for this reason.

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