When you lose a tooth, or as many as three in a row, then you need a prosthetic to protect your oral health and allow you to eat with ease again. Our team can create a custom dental bridge to provide new teeth that look natural. In today’s blog, your Astoria, NY, dentist talks about how we create and place a dental bridge.
The Causes of Tooth Loss
First, let’s talk about tooth loss. You could lose your teeth in adulthood to severe decay on infection, an injury, or in most cases, the result of periodontitis, the advanced stage of gum disease. When you lose teeth, your teeth could drift to create misalignment and make tooth decay and gum disease more likely. The strain on your jaw joints due to these gaps could also lead to associated complications like TMJ disorder and bruxism (teeth grinding). To preserve your smile’s beauty and function, and ensure good oral health and better confidence when you smile, you need a dental prosthetic.
Creating Your Custom Replacement
If you have between one and three missing teeth in a row, then we could prescribe a dental bridge. To create one, we will numb the teeth on each side of your gap, known as abutment teeth, and then remove structure from them. We gather detailed digital images and impressions of the abutment teeth and the gap, so we can use them in a dental lab setting to design and craft your dental bridge. The prosthetic will be made from ceramic and shade to blend with your smile, containing new teeth with crowns on one or both ends. The prosthetic is custom-made to ensure a proper fit, balanced bite, and of course, a lifelike appearance.
Securing Your New Teeth
When your dental bridge is ready, we will connect the crown portions to the abutment teeth, which secures your new teeth firmly into place. The prosthetic can remain in place for 10 to 15 years on average, requiring replacement as the jaw ridge gradually changes shape. You can brush and floss the prosthetic as you would natural teeth, and also clean the space between the top of the gums and the bottom of the prosthetic to help your new teeth last and to protect your natural ones too.
If you have any questions about how we treat tooth loss with a dental bridge, then contact our team today to learn more. We want to help you enjoy good oral health and a full, beautiful smile for years to come.
Talk To Your Astoria, NY Dentist About Replacing Missing Teeth
We would like to help you enjoy a full smile following your tooth loss. For more information, then please call Dr. Jeffrey Leibowitz, DDS at 718-728-8320.
