About Dental Bridges

Video Transcript

"A dental bridge is a type of prosthesis often used by time for dentists to replace a missing tooth. When a patient has a tooth removed or is missing a tooth there are several different options that we can utilize to replace it. The first one we'll touch very lightly on is something called a partial denture which is a removable appliance. Because it's removable we consider it kind of a temporary measure to restore a missing tooth. The other option that has been mentioned before is an implant. An implant is essentially a metal screw that's placed down into the jawbone where the tooth is missing, and a crown is later put on to restore that missing tooth. The third option which we mentioned earlier is a dental bridge. What a dental bridge is is it's using two crowns on the front tooth and the back tooth of the space in order to replace the missing tooth. What the dentist does is they actually numb you up and they will prepare, file down, the front tooth in front of the space, and they'll file down the back tooth behind the space, and they get an impression of that and they send it off to the lab. The lab will fabricate the bridge which is essentially two crowns with a replacement tooth that is attached to the anchor teeth. It's important with these that because of the anchor teeth the anchor teeth need to be in really good shape, otherwise, the bridge is compromised and could potentially fail. But, the bridge is a great option to restore, you know, a missing tooth, whether it be in the front or the back, and is also considered a permanent option when compared to something temporary such as a removable partial denture. Bridges can be made in porcelain, the all white material. They can also be made in gold, or they can be made in a combination of materials of porcelain and metal. All of those are viable options for bridges, and again, a bridge is a great option to restore a missing tooth."