Dental bridges do the job of filling in the gap caused by missing teeth in a jaw. For patients who have lost more than one tooth owing to decay, infection or accident, dental bridges are the way to bring back their intact smile.
Dental bridges can be made of alloy material but these do not look great because of their colour being metallic and therefore not matching the teeth perfectly. Ceramic or porcelain bridges are more common but they are also more expensive than alloy bridges. Based on the placement of the bridge in the mouth, we at The Dental Hub give the patient the best possible options to choose from.
The reasons for getting dental bridges fitted are replacing missing teeth to improve cosmetic value of the smile, to enable proper chewing and speaking, to restore the shape of the face by providing proper support to the cheek and lips, preventing other teeth from becoming malaligned and so on.
There are mainly four types of dental bridges
- Traditional dental bridge: These are the most popular variety of dental bridges and they comprise of one or more fake teeth held in place with dental crowns. These are placed in a gap between natural teeth and the crowns are fitted onto the natural teeth on either side of the gap.
- Cantilever bridge: This kind of dental bridge is secured by affixing the dental crown on the natural tooth on one side of the gap that is being filled. The enamel of the natural tooth will be filed and the new dental crown will be fixed on it to secure the bridge into place.
- Maryland bridge: Instead of dental crowns holding the fake teeth together as in traditional bridges, the fake teeth in this kind of bridging is held together by a metal or porcelain framework that are bonded behind the two adjacent teeth.
- Implant-supported bridges: In case of one or multiple spaces in the dental set where teeth are missing, implant supported bridges can be a good option. Here, instead of crowns or frameworks, each fake tooth is attached to an implant which is placed in the mouth individually.