Dental Bridges
Bridges are used for replacing teeth that are missing and help you achieve a complete, natural-looking smile.
A dental bridge is a porcelain, fabricated dental prosthesis designed to fill the space created by one or more missing teeth.
Bridges are affixed to surrounding teeth or via dental implants and cemented into place, there-by ‘bridging’ the gap between teeth and creating a natural, complete smile.
It only takes two appointments to complete a bridge from start to finish. At the first appointment, we trim the teeth either side of your space and scan the teeth we've trimmed. The scan is then sent to our dental technician for fabrication of the bridge prosthesis itself. Upon completion of fabrication, the technician will then send the bridge back to us all fabricated and beautiful, ready to insert – this takes around 2 weeks.
We then schedule in the final dental appointment and it is at this appointment where we make sure it is comfortable, it fits, perform any adjustments as necessary and cement it in. It is also at the time where we demonstrate / show you how to clean your bridge.
A good, well-designed, well-placed bridge will hopefully last around 20 to 30 years.
Who is a good candidate for a bridge?
A good candidate for a bridge is someone who needs crowns on the teeth either side of a missing tooth. If you have a missing tooth and the teeth either side of the space already have really big fillings in them, or they've had root canals that require crowns, then that's not a bad idea to consider a bridge. This is because those teeth either side require additional treatment of a crown at some point and this way you sort of killing two birds with one stone.
When a bridge isn’t the ideal solution.
So in a situation where you have pristine teeth on either side of the gap, the last thing you want to do is destroy the two teeth on either side to get a bridge in just to replace one tooth. We see this as one step forward, two steps back. Where possible, we always try to protect and maintain healthy teeth.
What are the different types of bridges?
There are several types and styles of bridges that are used depending on the distance the bridge needs to cover and the location of the missing tooth or teeth.
Traditional fixed bridge:
A traditional fixed bridge is usually a three-crown piece and is used where the teeth on either side of the missing tooth would benefit from a crown. Although a traditional bridge can also be done on a healthy teeth that don’t have any fillings at all, it is not recommended as natural tooth structure would have to be removed. Before the tooth is prepped the dentist will also need to determine whether or not the teeth will be strong enough to support the bridge.
Both teeth either side of the missing tooth are prepped the same way as a regular crown. These teeth are used to stabilise and support the ‘floating’ replacement tooth. A scan is taken to allow our lab technician to precisely create your new bridge. The bridge is then bonded and cemented in place closing the gap of the missing tooth. The bridge is matched to your natural tooth colour allowing it the blend in perfectly.
Cantilever bridge:
A cantilever bridge is similar to the traditional bridge although it only requires one tooth to support the ‘floating’ replacement tooth for the missing space. This type of bridge is perfect if there are no teeth on one side of the missing tooth you are wishing to replace. Another reason a dentist may choose this bridge over a traditional bridge is if one of the teeth beside the missing space isn’t strong enough to support the bridge. This type of bridge may also be utilised for aesthetic reasons, where preparing one tooth instead of two teeth would help the bridge blend in better.
The supporting tooth is prepped and a scan is taken for our lab technician. Once we receive your bridge it is then bonded and cemented in place closing the space of the missing tooth. The bridge is matched perfectly to the surrounding teeth helping it to blend in.
Maryland bonded bridge
A Maryland bridge is used towards the front of the mouth where the bridge will be quite visible. Unlike the Traditional and Cantilever bridge the Maryland bridge does not require the teeth beside the missing space to be prepared and crowned, making it the most conservative out of the three bridges. The ‘floating’ replacement tooth is still supported by the adjacent teeth but only by wings which are bonded and cemented to the back of the two supporting teeth. Most of the time this can be done without removing any tooth structure from these two supporting teeth but in some cases a small amount of tooth structure needs to be removed. This bridge is also made by our lab technicians meaning it is able to be perfectly matched.
The main difference is that a bridge locks teeth together that like to independently move, whereas an implant is a complete independent being of its own and doesn't have any impact on the teeth on either side of the gap.
If you want something that's completely independent, head toward the implant if you're eligible. Otherwise, a bridge is a good option. It is important to keep in mind that with a bridge, at some point you may have problems with the teeth on either side and if this occurs, it typically results in a more catastrophic failure. We will end up having two gaps instead of just one gap.
Why it is important for teeth to move independently
Each tooth has its own periodontal ligament and likes to move independently. If you squeeze your teeth together right now you feel that you have a little bit of bounce in your teeth and some teeth will bounce more than others. This is because of the different pressures you apply to your teeth. When you lock teeth together by way of a bridge, you are making them move as a unit. As a result, they will move more than they would normally, if they were individualised and this could cause problems in the future.
Generally, bridges still do last a very long time and the data between bridges versus implants is that if they are done well, they will last the same amount of time.