Creating Your Dental Bridge

Astoria dental bridgeWe recently blogged about the importance of addressing your missing teeth. Now, we want to talk about a prosthetic that addresses minor tooth loss in particular. In today’s blog, your Astoria, NY, dentist talks about how we create and secure a natural-looking dental bridge.

When You Need a Bridge

When you have a single missing tooth, or to three missing ones in a row, then a dental bridge is often the best option to address this gap in your smile. The prosthetic will contain new teeth, which we refer to as pontics, and crowns attached to each end. The bridge is made from materials like ceramic, which are not only able to absorb daily bite forces, but can be shaded to blend with your smile as well. We want you to be able to smile with confidence again, and enjoy your favorite food as well. Remember, replacing missing teeth helps prevent complications, such as misalignment, TMJ disorder, bruxism, and even the loss of further teeth to changes to facial structure.

Creating and Placing Them

To begin, we will administer a numbing agent and then remove structure from the teeth on either side of the gap, which we refer to as abutment teeth. Next, we take detailed images of them using digital technology. The images allow us to design and handcraft the finished product in a dental lab. When finished, we attach the crowns to the abutment teeth securing your new ones in place. On average, these last about 10 to 15 years and need to be replaced as the shape of the jaw ridge changes with time.

Dental Implants 

We could also secure them with dental implants instead of abutment teeth. With this option, we don’t need to remove structure from surrounding teeth as we instead insert implant posts into the jaw, which act as new roots. The body accepts them, and this stimulates the growth of jawbone structure.Your new roots can remain in place for decades, or even a lifetime! We attach the bridge portion to the implants. We could also discuss the use of implant dentistry to address more severe cases of tooth loss as well.

If you have any questions about how we treat missing teeth, or about the use of bridges or implants in this process, then contact our team today to learn more. We want to help you smile with confidence in 2022!

Do You Have Questions About Our Prosthetics?

By addressing the gap in your smile, this could help you enjoy your best smile. To learn more about our lifelike dental prosthetics, then schedule a consultation by calling Jeffrey Leibowitz, DDS, in Astoria, NY, today at 718-728-8320.