Dental Bridges

What Are Dental Bridges?

A dental bridge is a type of fixed prosthetic device that is used to bridge a gap in your mouth and replace missing teeth.

Why Would I Need A Dental Bridge?

If you have lost one or multiple adjacent teeth, a bridge could be a suitable option for you. Leaving gaps in your mouth can lead to further complications, such as, the remaining teeth can start to shift and rotate into those spaces. This can have a negative affect on the aesthetics of your teeth (crookedness), cause an imbalance to your bite (how they teeth meet), and can also lead to TMJ (temporomandibular joint dysfunction) issues.

Benefits of Dental Bridges

To summarise, there are a couple of benefits that are associated with bridges:

• It will improve functionality in terms of when you are eating & talking
• The aesthetics will be improved (no more gaps)
• It will stop your natural teeth from moving into where the gaps were
• It will help to equalize your bite (so you don’t overload a side of your mouth which can cause TMJ pain)

Other Suitable Options

When it comes to replacing missing teeth there could be multiple options available to you:

Dental implants – this is often considered the gold standard in tooth replacement as it offers the most security & stability. The implant effectively acts as the new tooth’s root and is placed at bone level. On top of the implant the restoration will be secured in place. Depending on how many teeth you have missing, the restoration on top can vary. For a single missing tooth, a dental crown will be fitted. For multiple missing teeth, either a bridge or overdenture can be secured in place.

Dentures – this is a more traditional approach to replacing missing teeth. Dentures can be made to be either partial or complete sets depending on your needs. Dentures are custom made to fit your mouth. The closer and more precise the impressions, the better the fit will be, and the more stable and comfortable they will be. For ill fitting dentures, it could just be a simple case of a denture reline to accommodate the changes that have occurred in your mouth.

Our clinicians will always discuss the available options to match your needs.

Dental Bridges Procedure

Getting a bridge is a fairly straight forward dental treatment that is usually completed over two appointments.

At the first visit your clinician will need to prepare the adjacent teeth of the gap to make room for crowns (secures the bridge in place) to fit on top. Impressions are then taken of the mouth and sent to a dental laboratory where they will fabricate your new bridge. We will place a temporary bridge to protect your exposed gums and teeth while the final bridge is being made.

At the second visit, we will remove the temporary bridge and then fit the new bridge in place. We will check the bridge has the correct fit and make adjustments as required. In some cases, multiple adjustment appointments may be required before the final fit. Once the bite is correct, the bridge will be cemented into place.

Book Your Dental Assessment

If you have a missing tooth or multiple missing teeth or you are just worried about your oral health, please do not hesitate to either call us or fill out the short form below and a member of the team will be happy to help.