Is A Dental Bridge Permanent?

What Is a Dental Bridge?

It is a dental restoration that replaces lost teeth in dentistry. Dental bridges typically feature one or two dental crowns and artificial replacement teeth. The artificial tooth is called a pontic, which replaces the missing tooth. Ideally, the dental crowns hold the pontic in place by anchoring on the adjacent teeth.

What Does the Procedure for Getting a Dental Bridgework Entail?

Once you visit a dental clinic near you to replace your teeth, expect to undergo a comprehensive dental exam. The exam will help your dentist determine whether a dental bridge treatment is the most suitable solution for your smile. Some of the things to anticipate during your treatment are:

1. Numbing – the dentist will numb your mouth with local anesthesia, ensuring your treatment is pain-free. Sedation dentistry is not often necessary for dental bridge treatment unless in unique circumstances.
2. Preparation of adjacent teeth – the dentist will use a dental drill to prepare the adjacent teeth that will anchor the bridgework. The preparation entails trimming as much tooth enamel as is necessary to make room for a dental crown. Depending on the type of bridgework you get, the dentist will prepare one or both of your adjacent teeth to the right and left of the existing gap.
3. Taking impressions of your prepared teeth – the dentist will create a mold that will guide in the creation process of your bridgework. The mold accounts for the gap between the lost tooth and the prepared adjacent teeth.
4. Creation of the bridgework – is typically created in a dental laboratory, a process that takes about two weeks to complete. Meanwhile, your dentist will protect your adjacent teeth with temporary crowns until your bridgework is ready for installation.
5. Installation of the bridgework – on your second dental visit, your dentist will use dental cement to bond the bridgework to your natural tooth structure. (S)he also uses lasers to speed up the bonding process by curing the cement.

Can A Dental Bridge Be Done in One Day?

It takes at least two dental visits to receive a traditional dental bridge. The period is necessary to ensure that your bridgework is tailored and customized to befit your oral needs. However, Toronto dentists can offer same-day dental bridges if you do not want to lengthen your treatment period.

At King and Weston Dental, we use a high-tech approach to create same-day dental bridges. This way, our patients do not have to wait several days before completing their treatments. The technology capitalizes on the CEREC (Chairside Economical Restoration of Esthetic Ceramics) milling system mixed with digital workflows to offer timely solutions to tooth loss.

How Does a Dental Bridge Look in My Mouth?

Whether you decide to get a traditional dental bridge or an immediate one, bridgework is an incredible solution to tooth loss. It offers both a functional and aesthetic solution for your mouth. The good news is that dental bridges look like natural teeth. They feature porcelain, a tooth-colored material that closely matches natural teeth. After your treatment, it will be hard to tell apart the dental bridge from your natural teeth. Some other benefits of dental bridges are:

1. They are sturdy – traditional dental bridges get anchorage from two adjacent teeth, making them the sturdiest bridgework for replacing missing teeth.
2. They can replace multiple missing teeth in a row – dental bridges can replace up to three sequential teeth instead of one at a time.
3. They restore optimal functionality – with a dental bridge in place, you can chew, speak and perform other oral tasks normally.
4. They prevent teeth from shifting – dental bridges disallow the rest of your existing natural teeth from moving by occupying the gap of the lost tooth.

Are Dental Bridges Permanent?

Ideally, the only way to remove a dental crown would be to dislodge it after weakening the dental cement that bonds it to your natural tooth structure. In that regard, dental bridges are more permanent than they are temporary. However, if you want a permanent solution for tooth loss, you need to get dental implants. The implants become the new anchorage for dental bridgework, making them permanent and comparable to natural teeth.