Bridging the Gap at Worcester Park

Dental bridges are used to replace a missing tooth or teeth. There are different types of dental bridges, including conventional-fixed bridges, cantilever, and resin retained bridges. These will all be explained to you in great detail when you visit you Worchester Park dentist. Fixed conventional and cantilever bridges require that the adjacent teeth are shaped into barrel-shaped or peg-shaped teeth, and then a bridge is fabricated to replace the original teeth forms and function and be attached to a pontic. A pontic is shaped like the crown of the missing tooth and usually touches the gum tissue between the two or more abutment teeth (i.e., existing teeth that were prepared for the bridge), or in some cases the pontic is shaped to allow for easier cleaning. A cantilever bridge is designed just the way it sounds. Two or more teeth are prepared next to each other, and then the pontic is fabricated in the toothless space next to the abutment tooth, with no attachment or just a rest seat on the other side. A resin-bonded bridge requires much less tooth preparation than a conventional or cantilever bridge, and is most often used to replace a front tooth.
Missing teeth can cause your bite to collapse down onto itself and alter the functioning and appearance of your mouth. It may also affect your smile, and cause shifting of your existing teeth, temporomandibular joint problems, and many other problems.
Your Worcester Park dentist will perform a complete dental examination, including radiographs, and study models, prior to making a decision about providing you with a fixed bridge. Your soft and hard tissues supporting your other teeth should be in excellent shape before the dentist begins this process, in order to prevent loss of supporting bone around your other teeth. The dentist will also make sure that your other teeth are biting satisfactorily and without interferences. The laboratory will shape your teeth adjacent to the edentulous space and fabricate a temporary bridge out of dental acrylic. This way, after the dentist prepares your teeth, the temporary bridge will be placed to keep your teeth from shifting. The dentist anaesthetizes the area that will be worked on, and the appropriate teeth will be prepared. After the preparation, gingival cord will be placed around the prepared teeth in order to get a good impression of the teeth margins, and then impressions will be taken by the dentist of the prepared segment and the teeth opposing the bridge area. A bite registration and tooth shade will also be taken by the dentist, and all of these will be sent to the laboratory so that a bridge can be fabricated, either using porcelain fused to gold, gold, or porcelain. This depends on the strength desired and the location of the bridge. The temporary bridge is then cemented in the area where the teeth were prepared, and touched-up to fit properly. After 1-2 weeks, the dentist receives the bridge from the laboratory, and you will be scheduled for an appointment to have your new bridge placed and cemented.