Need a Dental Bridge? Visit your Worcester Park Dental Clinic

If you have a tooth or numerous teeth missing, and do not want you wear a removable denture, then a fixed dental bridge is for you. Your Worcester Park dentist will explain the benefits of dental bridges, which are prosthetic teeth made of porcelain, metal or gold, or a combination of porcelain and metal/gold that use the adjacent teeth for support and anchorage. These supporting teeth are referred to as abutment teeth, while the missing teeth that are replaced are referred to as pontic teeth. For every tooth that needs replacing, you like to have one supporting tooth at least, if not more.
A dental bridge or bridges will be recommended by your Worchester Park dentist if you have one or several teeth missing that effect your ability to eat. Other reasons to replace your missing teeth with a fixed dental bridge are if: your appearance and smile are affected, your teeth are starting to shift or your bite is collapsing; your speech is affected; and, there is a change to the shape of your face, along with numerous other reasons.
There are several different types of fixed dental bridges; by fixed it is meant that they are not removable. There are several designs of fixed dental bridges, where the adjacent teeth are prepared the same way that crowns are prepared, and the impressions are taken, along with a bite registration and shade, and are sent to a dental laboratory with instructions. Different designs are also available for the pontic tooth of the bridge, depending upon where the missing tooth is located and the hygiene needs of the patient. There are also resin-retained bridges and cantilever bridges. Resin bonded bridges are usually used in the anterior sections of the mouth, when the teeth are in good shape, and both the dentist and the patient do not want solid tooth structure removed unnecessarily. Very little of the inner of the adjacent teeth are removed and the pontic is bonded to the adjacent teeth by metal wings made to conform to those teeth. Cantilever bridges are usually made when teeth abutments are only on one side of the edentulous (toothless) space. Dental bridges can last a long time, especially if you take good care of them and your overall oral hygiene. Fixed bridges are natural in appearance and tend to be much more stable than removable bridges, partials, or full dentures.