When you suffer from tooth loss, especially in minor cases, we can offer replacement with a dental bridge. The prosthetic is custom-made and designed to offer a lifelike appearance too. In today’s blog, your Sunny Smiles team talks about how we design and place your custom and natural-looking dental bridge, which can help you enjoy better oral health, bite function, and appearance.
The Loss of Your Natural Teeth
What causes the loss of your natural teeth? We could suffer from missing teeth due to issues like untreated cavities or infections, injury to the face or jaw, or in most cases, the stage of gum disease known as periodontitis. When you have gaps in your smile, this could limit meal options, impact how clearly you speak, or lead to misalignment, which in turn leaves you more vulnerable to issues like tooth decay and gum disease. The impact on your bite balance could mean the onset of TMJ disorder and bruxism (teeth grinding). To avoid these complications, our team recommends replacing your missing teeth. For those with one to three missing teeth in a row, we can offer help with a custom dental bridge.
Creating a Dental Bridge
To begin, our team will numb the teeth on each side of the space in your smile. These are referred to as abutment teeth. Next, our team will take detailed digital images of them, which we use in a lab setting to design and fabricate the custom prosthetic. Made from ceramic, this can handle daily bite forces with ease and offer a durable chewing surface. The material can also be shaded to blend with your smile seamlessly, so your new teeth and crowns look natural.
Securing Your New Prosthetic
For a traditional option, we will connect the crown portions to the abutment teeth, which supports your new teeth and completes your smile. These tend to last about 10 to 15 years on average. However, we could also insert one to two dental implants into your arch, which act as new roots and preserves the shape of the jaw ridge, so once we connect the bridge to them, you have a prosthetic that can last for decades to come, possibly a lifetime. If you have one or more missing teeth, then contact our team today to learn more about our dental bridges, and whether traditional or implant-secured options may be best for you.
READY FOR AN CUSTOM DENTAL PROSTHETIC?
If you are interested in receiving replacement teeth to address your missing ones, then call Sunny Smiles Family Dentistry in El Paso, TX, today at 915.759.7000 to get started. Our team wants to help you enjoy good oral health and a full smile, so you can enjoy optimal oral health and a full and beautiful smile.