When you have one or more missing teeth, then a dental bridge can be used to restore the gaps. The dental bridge is basically a false tooth, beautifully created from porcelain that fills the gap and is supported by adjacent teeth or implants.
One of the most crucial skills in the placement of a dental bridge is to create the impression that the false tooth emerges from gum just like a natural tooth. The skills of our cosmetic dentists will ensure that no-one will know that you ever had a missing tooth!
There are several types of dental bridges depending on your particular needs:
The "false tooth" is fused between two porcelain crowns to fill the gap left by a missing tooth. There are two crowns holding it in place attached onto your teeth either side of the false tooth. This type of dental bridge can be used to replace one or more missing teeth.
In areas of your mouth that are under less stress, such as your front teeth, a cantilever dental bridge may be used. A cantilever dental bridge is when the "false tooth" is only supported on one side. The result is just as aesthetic but has the benefit that fewer teeth have to be treated.
The type of dental bridge is almost always used for your front teeth. The main benefit of this type of dental bridge is that healthy teeth either side need either minimal or no preparation. The "false tooth" is fused to metal or ceramic "wings" that are bonded very firmly to the supporting or "abutment" teeth with a resin. The wings are hidden from view so that only the porcelain, which appears just like a natural tooth, is visible.
Implants are the modern way to replace missing teeth. An implant is placed in the bone where the tooth root would have originally been. When it has fused to the bone it can be restored with individual crowns or, when more than one tooth is missing, with an implant supported dental bridge. Even if you have no teeth in one or both jaws, implants can be placed and an implant supported dental bridge securely fixed.