What Are the Benefits of Dental Bridges?
Have you recently lost a tooth? Tooth loss affects more than just the appearance of your smile. It can also affect your oral health and quality of life. For example, a missing tooth can make it difficult to eat your favorite foods or talk with confidence. Our Hilliard, OH, dentist understands this and offers a few restorative solutions, one of which being dental bridges.
Here are 5 and the main components that make it functional.
How Does a Dental Bridge Work?
Like the name suggests, a dental bridge “bridges” the gap left in your smile after losing a tooth. Traditionally, the restoration consists of a false tooth (also known as a pontic) that is anchored on both sides by natural teeth or dental implants which are capped with porcelain crowns. Many of our patients appreciate that look and feel natural.
Depending on your situation, a custom dental bridge can be used to replace 1-3 teeth in a row. A smile missing up to 4 teeth can still qualify, but longer bridges place more stress on the supporting teeth. If those teeth are not strong enough, the bridge may be more likely to fail over time.
For this reason, our local family dentist typically recommends dental bridge placement when the number of missing teeth is relatively small and the surrounding teeth are healthy enough to provide solid support.
You may be a good candidate for a dental bridge if you:
- Are missing one or more permanent teeth in the same area
- Have good overall oral and general health
- Do not have untreated gum disease or active decay
- Have strong adjacent teeth to support a traditional bridge or adequate jawbone density for an implant-supported bridge
- Are committed to daily oral hygiene and routine dental visits
Maintaining the health of the teeth and gums around the fixed dental bridge is key to keeping it functioning properly over time. Regular cleanings inside our Hilliard, OH, dental office and at-home care help protect the supporting structures and reduce the risk of future issues.
In General, Dental Bridges Can Help You:
1. Maintain (and Upgrade) Oral Health
The dental bridge procedure can significantly improve the appearance of your smile, especially one that is placed in the front of your mouth. Not only will it give you confidence, but it can help you avoid further tooth loss or crowding of surrounding teeth. Having the bridge securely integrated into your smile will keep other teeth where they need to be and help preserve your natural face structure.
The sooner you ask Dr. Gibson about getting a dental bridge, the better chance you’ll have of being able to maintain good oral health.
2. Prevent Further Tooth Loss
It’s important to understand that your teeth are held in place by roots and surrounding teeth. As mentioned above, this means that when you lose a tooth, nearby teeth start to tilt toward the open space or even become loose. A non-removable dental bridge works to prevent this from happening by filling the empty tooth socket so nearby teeth are held in place.
Learn More → 5 Dental Restorations That Can Save Your Smile
3. Speak With Ease
It’s not uncommon for people with missing teeth to speak with a lisp or have difficulty pronouncing certain words. Your teeth play a vital role in how you form words in your mouth. To see what we mean, try reading aloud to see how many times your lips or tongue come in contact with your teeth. Dental bridges not only improve the outward look of your smile, but they also make it easier for you to speak clearly and with confidence.
4. Eat Without Pain or Difficulty
After losing a tooth, you may experience pain while chewing. Dental plaque and food particles can also collect in the empty tooth socket and increase your risk for gingivitis or periodontal disease. A dental bridge is a form of tooth replacement that lets you keep eating your favorite foods. After getting a dental bridge, you’ll be able to eat without pain and have an easier time maintaining a balanced diet.
5. Keep Your Jawbone Tissue Healthy
Your jawbone tissue needs stimulation from tooth roots to stay healthy. After tooth extraction, the jawbone starts to deteriorate to the extent that you could risk further tooth loss or even facial collapse. A dental bridge helps keep jawbone tissue healthy so you can maintain good oral health and keep the shape of your face.
Ask Dr. Gibson About a Bridge Today
Our dental bridge dentist in Hilliard, OH, and his staff at Gibson Dental are dedicated to helping patients fix their smiles after tooth loss with restorative dental procedures. If you are ready to request an appointment with us, call today at (614) 878-9562.
This blog post has been updated.