The absence of teeth doesn’t just impact your self-esteem and aesthetic appeal; it can also have adverse consequences for your overall oral well-being. Missing teeth can complicate speaking and chewing, and they create room for adjacent teeth to move, potentially leading to additional health concerns. Fortunately, there’s a remedy! If you’re grappling with missing teeth, you could be a suitable candidate for a dental bridge.
We recommend dental bridges for those missing between one and three teeth. Any more than that and your bridge may become unstable and begin to lose its structural integrity. For this situation, your doctor may recommend dental implants, or a combination of implants and a dental bridge to restore your missing teeth.
Typically, a dental bridge relies on the presence of healthy teeth to provide the necessary support and stability. If your teeth are in poor health, this could potentially lead to the bridge failing or requiring premature replacement.
There are all sorts of factors that your doctor will take into account during your consultation that will influence their decision about whether or not to prescribe dental bridge treatment. The only way to know for sure if a dental bridge is the best solution for you is to schedule a call or contact our office today to schedule a consultation with our Mississauga Family Dentistry staff.
The cost of a dental bridge can vary widely from patient to patient. With a typical insurance plan, expect to pay somewhere between $800 to $1200+. Without insurance, a reasonable figure for a dental bridge could be between $2000 to $3000 and up.
There are different types of dental bridges – permanent and semi-permanent. Bridges are sometimes referred to as fixed partial dentures because they are semi-permanent and are bonded to existing teeth or implants. The easiest way to tell the difference between a bridge (which stays put) and a denture (which is removable) is that bridges are just the teeth whereas dentures have those pink gums.
Cantilever bridges are used when there aren’t adjacent teeth on both sides of the missing teeth. They aren’t very common anymore and aren’t recommended in the back of the mouth where it can apply too much force to other teeth and damage them. If your missing teeth are in the back of your mouth, there are other solutions available.
Bridges can be constructed from gold alloys, non-precious alloys, porcelain, or a combination of these materials. We primarily use porcelain for our dental bridge procedures.
Sometimes, people use the terms dental bridge and crown interchangeably. The reality is they have different functions. Dental crowns are prosthetic caps that are placed over broken, chipped, or worn teeth. They are effective in strengthening the teeth and preventing tooth decay. Dental bridges are designed to bridge the gap created by one or more missing teeth.
A crowns, all by itself, cannot replace a missing tooth. The crown refers to a dental cap that looks and feels like a tooth but it needs to be supported inside and beneath the gum line by either an existing and prepared tooth, a partial tooth with a post or a dental implant.
Bridges can be made of Zirconia. Ask us for more information and we would be happy to show you what materials are available and what our recommendations are for your specific needs.
