Dental bridges are a traditional way to replace a missing tooth.
A common solution to the problem of tooth loss is a bridge, which comprises of replacement tooth or teeth connected to crowns on either side of the space.
The bridge is fused to the teeth next to the gap. This means that the bridge replaces the absent tooth and prevents any further movement of the adjacent teeth.
The process followed for the creation and insertion of a bridge is very similar to that of a crown. Two appointments are required. Firstly, the dentist will get the teeth alongside the space ready for crowns and a mould of the new teeth is generated. A temporary bridge is fitted in the mouth in the meantime. Secondly, once the permanent bridge has been created, the dentist will fit the bridge and fine tune it to its perfect position before fixing it in place.
Bridges generally last many years and are resilient to normal diets. However, it is possible that bridges may need to be changed or re-secured due to the strains of standard wear.
While there are benefits of a dental bridge, dental implants are now preferred, where possible, over dental bridges. Dental implants remove the need to damage perfectly good teeth to support the dental bridge.
Dental bridges are more and more being replaced with dental implants. Dr Finkelstein explains in this video the benefits of dental implants compared with a traditional dental bridge.
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