Published on December 23, 2020, Updated on February 22, 2021

Dental Bridges will be able to seal the gap that is created when you lose a tooth or more. One or more crowns can be placed to fill in the gaps. Unlike dentures that can be removed, teeth bridges are cemented into one or existing implants that will only be removed by an implants specialist. The purpose of the bridge is to restore the bite and maintain the natural shape of your face.

Missing a tooth or two shouldn’t be ignored. Your teeth will need to work together and when you lose a tooth, the remaining tooth will shift to that space. This drifting will affect your bite and puts a lot of stress to your teeth and jaw possibly causing more damage and pain.

Dental Bridges Procedure

This dental treatment will need at least two appointments, but thanks to modern dentistry and through CAD/CAM, dental bridges can be done in a single visit. The steps are:

  1. Healing and Recovery – There must be sufficient time allotted to allow the gum to completely heal.
  2. Anesthesia – When the tooth has been extracted and after the gums have healed the procedure begins with desensitization of the abutment tooth. The desensitization process will start when one or more shots of the local anesthetic in the gums around the abutment tooth. Your specialist will then check if there is enough anesthesia before they start the procedure to make sure you won’t feel any pain.
  3. Trimming the Abutment Teeth – When the gums are numb, the abutment teeth will be trimmed to prepare for the crown. Two abutment teeth will need to be shaped parallel to allow for the simultaneous mounting of the crowns.
  4. Impression – The abutment teeth and the gum space is prepared for making an impression. The impression taken by your dental expert will be sent to the lab for fabrication along with the specifications and its specific instructions.
  5. Temporary Bridge – During the procedure, the enamel will be trimmed away. This can leave the tooth weak and sensitive. Your specialist will let you wear a temporary placement from the impression that was taken and fits it to the teeth.
  6. Construction – The bridge will then be created in the lab according to the impressions delivered by the dental specialist. The construction of the bridge will take weeks.
  7. Fitting – The temporary bridge is then removed and the permanent one is placed. If it doesn’t fit or is painful, adjustments may need to be made. Once it is comfortably placed, the addition is cemented permanently.
  8. Check-Up Visit – A check-up visit will be scheduled after a few months, to see if the addition has caused any pain or discomfort. Necessary adjustments may be made.

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