How Dental Bridges Replace Teeth

All people can relate to the experience of losing teeth as a child. Losing teeth as an adult, however, is abnormal, and opens up to a wide range of possible dental and periodontal risks and complications. If you find yourself missing an adult tooth and are uninterested in dental implants, you will be pleased to know that there is another option available to you if the gap is surrounded by one or more remaining real teeth. Dental bridges are an excellent, natural-looking solution that will last you for years if properly maintained.

An open gap where an adult tooth once was has the potential to exert a sinkhole type of effect on the rest of your mouth – the surrounding teeth, with nothing holding them solidly in place, will all begin to drift toward the empty spot, not only changing the way your smile looks, but in some severe cases actually causing the outward appearance of the face itself to degrade and appear sunken in. Aside from that, many patients report more difficulty chewing, speaking, and swallowing after the loss of the tooth. This is due in part to the fact that a missing tooth redistributes the interplay of forces present on the chewing surface of all the teeth.

A bridge is exactly what it sounds like: using the surrounding teeth as leverage, two caps hold between them a false tooth, also called a pontic, firmly in place where the missing tooth once was. Our dentist will evaluate the area and surrounding tissue, sculpt the teeth to be crowned on either side, and take a physical impression with dental putty. After the crowns and the pontic are designed and put in place, the bridge will be checked against the alignment of your bite, adjusted, and permanently affixed to your jaw. In some cases where there is only one tooth available as the anchoring point, a special type of bridge called a cantilever is used. This exception is usually reserved only for molars, which are less easily jarred during day-to-day activity.

With proper care, a bridge will last for well over a decade. Our dentist in San Francisco will keep a close eye on it and you would need to come back in for regular maintenance appointments.