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If you're missing one or more teeth, you may notice a difference in chewing and speaking. There are options to help restore your smile and function.
Bridges help maintain the shape of your face, as well as alleviating the stress in your bite by replacing missing teeth.
Sometimes called a fixed partial denture, a bridge replaces missing teeth with artificial teeth, looks great, and literally bridges the gap where one or more teeth may have been. The restoration can be made from gold, alloys, porcelain or a combination of these materials and is bonded onto surrounding teeth for support.
It begins with a complete exam, diagnosis, blueprint and plan. Once the treatment is started, it generally takes 2-3 appointments to complete. One appointment is to prepare the teeth, make impressions and provisional restorations. A prescription is developed for the technician to create the definitive bridgework to Dr. Smith's specification. Another appointment is needed to remove the provisional restoration and place the definitive restoration.
In the above example, all the patient's lower teeth were restored with crowns and veneers. Some of the crowns served as the bridge abutments to replace the missing teeth. When a small number of teeth are missing, this type of non-removable bridge works well. If a large number of teeth are missing, an implant or removable bridge option may need to be considered.
Any treatment approach is designed to that it is easily cleanable to prevent future decay and /or gum disease. The bite is aslo engineered to minimize breakage and ensure longevity and comfort.
