When you lose a tooth, or as many as three in a row, then you need a fixed prosthetic. Our dental bridges can address missing teeth and offer a lifelike appearance. In today’s blog, your Celina, TX, dentist talks about how we create and place a custom bridge, and how we can even secure them with dental implants.
The Risks of Tooth Loss
Tooth loss could occur due to an injury to your jaw, or as a result of an untreated cavity or infection. Gum disease, more accurately the advanced stage known as periodontitis, is actually the most common factor. When we lose our teeth, these gaps could lead to misalignment and an increased risk of cavities and gum disease, as brushing and flossing is more difficult due to shifting teeth. Strain on your jaw joints could cause TMJ disorder or even chronic teeth grinding, and you may feel embarrassed about your appearance. You could even lose mass and density in the jaw as the body stops sending nutrients to the areas with missing teeth! But we can help prevent these complications with the placement of a dental bridge.
Dental Bridges
A dental bridge is a prosthetic that can handle a single missing tooth or up to three or four in a row. The prosthetic contains new teeth with crowns attached to each end. Our team crafts them from materials like ceramic, which can be shaded to blend with your smile and offer a lifelike appearance, while also handling daily bite forces and pressures. They could be secured with crowns attached to the abutment teeth (the ones on each side of the gap) or attached to dental implants. With the implant option, we can prevent the breakdown of mass and density in the jaw, so your new teeth last for decades as opposed to 10 to 15 years.
Creating and Placing Your Prosthetic
To begin, we will numb the teeth on each side of the gap. We then remove structure from the abutment teeth and gather detailed digital images and measurements, which we use in a lab setting to design and craft the prosthetic. We then check the fit of the finished prosthetic and make any necessary adjustments before we attach the crowns to the abutment teeth or implants, securing your new ones in place. If you have any questions about how we handle tooth loss with custom bridges, then contact our team today to learn more. We want to help you enjoy a full smile again!
Contact Our Team for an Appointment Today!
Our team wants to help you enjoy a full smile by addressing your minor tooth loss. Start your path to a full smile by calling us today at Celina Family Dentistry at (214) 851-0130!
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