What Is a Dental Bridge?

The benefits of having a bridge

Patients looking to replace a missing tooth often ask, “What is a dental bridge?” A dental bridge is one option you can use after losing a tooth. There are also other options available.

What is a dental bridge?

A dental bridge is a false tooth that the dentist cements in place. Teeth on either side of the false tooth will support it, and the dentist places crowns on those teeth.

Is a bridge necessary?

What often happens when you lose a tooth is that the teeth surrounding the hole, where the tooth used to be, tend to fall into the empty space. It can result in the collapse of that whole side of the mouth. There are other solutions that can prevent this from happening, including a partial denture or a dental implant. For a dental bridge to work, the teeth that are on either side of the missing tooth must be healthy.

What other issues can result when you don’t do anything about the missing tooth?

When teeth shift in the mouth to compensate for the hole caused by missing teeth, it can lead to:

(Reference: Cleveland Clinic)

Do bridges look natural?

When using advanced technology, a dental bridge can look very natural, like a regular tooth. Because bridges are made from porcelain, they resemble tooth enamel. The false tooth looks like just another tooth in a row of teeth.

How long does it take to get a bridge?

It depends on the technology the dentist has available. With some dentists getting a bridge requires two visits. During one visit, the dentist prepares your natural teeth that will be on either side of the bridge. During the second visit the dentist attaches the false tooth. However, because we use an advanced technology called CEREC at Hutto Hippy Family Dental, we can create the crowns and bridge and insert them in one visit.

Do you need to schedule a dental visit?

Our friendly staff at Hutto Hippo Family Dental is happy help you. We are also glad to answer your questions.

Give us a call. Our number is (512) 806-7740.