Bridges

At Crown House Dental Practice, a missing tooth or several missing teeth can be replaced through the placement of a dental bridge.

Dental bridges are used to replace teeth that are missing or in need of extraction, thereby repairing a smile with a gap and restoring a mouth to full function again. There are several different types of bridges available, but all require the support of 1 – 2 neighbouring healthy teeth in order to be successful.

FAQs

What exactly is a dental bridge?
Dental bridges are made up of porcelain prosthetic teeth and a support structure that uses one or two neighbouring teeth to hold the prosthetic teeth in place. In this way, they quite literally bridge a gap in the mouth, restoring function and aesthetic symmetry to a smile.

There are several different types of bridges available:

• Conventional bridge:  The most commonly placed bridge, conventional bridges use two neighbouring healthy teeth as anchors, with crowns to hold the prosthetic tooth or teeth in place.
• Cantilever bridge:  Often used on teeth close to the front of the mouth, a cantilever bridge is held in place with just one healthy neighbouring tooth used as an anchor.
• Maryland/bonded bridge:  Instead of using a crown to hold the prosthetic teeth/tooth in place, Maryland bridges use a metal or porcelain framework that is then bonded to the back of the neighbouring teeth as support.

Why do I need to replace a missing tooth/teeth?
As preventative dentists, our team at Crown House Dental Practice will always recommend replacement when a patient has a missing tooth and replacement is applicable. Missing teeth can cause a number of other oral health issues, including the misalignment of the remaining teeth and tooth decay. They can also make it harder to speak and eat, and really affect the confidence of the patient, especially when they smile.