Here’s Everything to Know About Dental Bridging
A person’s teeth represent the most critical component of their smile and an essential aspect of creating the perfect first impression. Dental health is one of the most vital areas for a person’s overall hygiene. Besides brushing, flossing regularly, and eating right, good hygiene involves undergoing the right treatments for dental repairs and replacements. Dental bridging is one such effective and efficient form of dental repair. Let’s learn more about it and its various types.
What is dental bridging?
In common terms, dental bridging replaces a missing tooth or a row of missing teeth. People lose their teeth to decay, accidents, or specific health conditions. Bridging helps them “bridge the gap” in their mouth to make their smile look complete. Dentists make special efforts to create specially customized bridges for individuals to match the color and shape of their existing natural teeth.
A dental bridge is made up of two components: pontics and abutments. The latter are the structures that support the dental bridge placed in the mouth. Healthcare experts use this term to denote the teeth and connector posts used in the bridges. The former is the artificial teeth used to fill the gap of missing teeth in clients’ mouths.
How much does dental bridging cost?
Dental bridge costs can vary from one clinic to another. Experienced, reputed dentists may charge slightly more than the average market rate for bridging. However, dental bridge average costs range from about $500 to $1,500 for traditional fixed crowns and about $2,300 for bonded bridges. In certain places, traditional or cantilever dental bridges cost anywhere between $2,000 to $5,000 for a pontic and a crown (or capping) for every abutment tooth.
How is dental bridging done?
The first step of dental bridging, known as the pre-treatment phase, involves going through an examination by a dentist and being advised to undergo a bridging or a crown procedure.
The second step, involving a formal visit to the dentist to get the procedure done, includes the dental expert initially numbing the area in the client’s mouth to eliminate decay. After that, the dentist gently shapes the teeth and gums surrounding the area that will be operated on. In this step, the dentist also takes an impression or a scan of the client’s mouth to create a customized bridge/crown for them. Meanwhile, they will provide a provisional prosthetic crown to the customer to hold and maintain the shape of the remaining teeth in their mouth.
Using the impression/scan, a lab assistant in the clinic will create a well-fitting provisional prosthesis that not only fits perfectly in the teeth gap of the patient but also blends well with the overall color and shape of the rest of the teeth inside the mouth. During this phase, the individual undergoing the operation will be asked to maintain strict meal and hygiene guidelines, down to how one brushes and flosses to keep the provisional dental prosthetics free of debris and plaque. Temporary cement is used to keep this prosthetic piece in place.
The final step involves the removal of the temporary bridge and provisional prosthetic. After this, the doctor tries on the permanent bridge and cements it in the gap using permanent cement after checking whether its bite and fit are proper. The crown’s inner surface is layered with enough cement to adhere correctly to the client’s surrounding teeth.
The dentist asks the patient to bite down on the crown until the permanent cement dries and hardens. After this, the excess cement is removed, and the dentist performs a final examination before concluding the procedure.
What are the types of dental bridges?
While some healthcare experts may classify them differently at times, there are broadly four types of dental bridges:
Cantilever dental bridge
Unlike a traditional bridge, a cantilever has a crown only on one end, not both. As a result, when the bridge is placed on the abutment tooth, the pontic (artificial tooth) extends across or “hangs over” the gap. Cantilever bridges are not as strong as traditional bridges and are used when customers only have natural teeth on one side of their tooth gap.
Maryland dental bridge
Unlike traditional bridges, a Maryland one uses metal wings to secure the bridge and the prosthetic teeth. Dentists bond these wings to the back of the neighboring teeth to hold the bridge in place. Maryland bridges are perfect for replacing the front teeth as they are not sturdy enough to withstand the grinding and chewing forces of the teeth at the back.
Implant-supported bridge
These bridges rest atop a person’s natural teeth. Before they attach this bridge to the dental implants (small threaded posts that replace missing teeth roots), dentists need to ensure that the dental implants have fully fused with the jawbone of the client. These bridges are usually used when someone has three or more missing teeth.
Traditional dental bridge
This is the most common bridge used for most dental bridging operations. As implied earlier, these bridges come with dental crowns at both ends and pontics (artificial teeth) in between. These bridges are mainly used when clients have healthy teeth on both sides of their teeth gap.
Disclaimer:
The content of the articles discussing symptoms, treatments, health conditions, and side effects is solely intended for informational purposes. It is imperative that readers do not interpret the information provided on the website as professional advice. Readers are requested to use their discretion and refrain from treating the suggestions or opinions provided by the writers and editors as medical advice. It is important to seek the help of licensed and expert healthcare professionals when necessary.