What are dental bridges?

The fact that you may be missing a tooth or teeth does not make you unusual. The majority of South African adults between the ages of 20 and 64 have three cavities or missing teeth, according to the South African Dental Association. An artificial tooth (called a pontic) is fused to crowns on either side of a gap using a dental bridge. Bridges for missing teeth do what their name implies: they bridge the gap left by missing teeth. Even though pontics can be created from precious metals like gold, porcelain is more commonly used because of its ability to mimic the colour and translucency of natural teeth.

Why would you need a dental bridge?

People who are missing teeth suffer a variety of consequences. A dental bridge can accommodate the following adjustments:

• Alleviate suffering brought on by strain on the teeth and jaw
• Fixing one's chewing dysfunction
• Healing your grin
• Improving one's voice and pronunciation
• Keeping your face from collapsing
• If you're self-conscious about your smile, improving its appearance may help
• Keeping your remaining teeth in the correct position
• Readjusting your bite so that chewing forces are distributed correctly

Types of dental bridges

Dental bridges come in four main varieties, all of which can be placed by Dr Patel:

• Cantilever bridges – Cantilever dental bridges are like traditional bridges, but they only require crowns to be cemented onto a single abutment tooth rather than two. In order to use a cantilever bridge, you need only preserve one tooth adjacent to the space.
• Implant-supported bridges – Bridges secured to dental implants are yet another solution for filling gaps caused by tooth loss. Bridges are a good choice when many teeth need to be fixed. Implant-supported bridges, as the name implies, rely on dental implants as opposed to crowns for support. Usually, a series of implants are surgically placed. These implants support one for each missing tooth and the bridge. Instead of using individual implants to replace each tooth that is lost, a bridge can be made using a pontic suspended between two implant-supported crowns. An implant-supported bridge, widely regarded as the most robust and stable system, typically necessitates two separate surgical procedures. Two surgeries are required: the first to insert the implants into the jawbone and the second to attach the bridge.
• Maryland bridges – Like traditional bridges, Maryland dental bridges cover gaps between teeth by anchoring teeth on either side of the space. A traditional bridge would have dental crowns placed on the abutment teeth, but a Maryland bridge would instead use a metal or porcelain framework cemented to the backs of the abutment teeth. In order to accommodate this type of bridge, no preparation of the teeth on either side is required because no crowns are involved. Without two healthy teeth on either side of the gap, a Maryland bridge cannot be used to replace a missing tooth or teeth. Compared to other types of bridges, Maryland bridges are considered more conservative.
• Traditional dental bridges – When two adjacent teeth are in good health, a dental bridge called a traditional bridge can be used to fill in the gap left by a missing tooth. In a traditional bridge, false teeth are cemented between two crowns on either side of the gap (called an abutment tooth or teeth).

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