Porcelain Fixed Bridges

What Are Porcelain Fixed Bridges?

Dental bridges replace missing teeth and teeth that are too badly damaged for crowns or fillings. They help hold remaining teeth in proper alignment and keep natural teeth from bearing too much stress from biting and chewing. This is one of the most common dental procedures for filling a gap in a patient’s smile.

Porcelain Dental bridges are a commonly recommended treatment for replacing one or more missing teeth with realistic prosthetics. Although adult tooth loss in the U.S. is decreasing overall, a high percentage of people do lose one or more teeth to gum disease, cavities or fracture at some point. According to the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, adults lose an average of one-to-two permanent teeth (not counting wisdom teeth) before the age of 50.

Porcelain Fixed Bridge Benefits

Each tooth in your mouth plays an important role in keeping the rest of your teeth in line. When you lose a tooth, the teeth on either side can begin drifting out of alignment. So, even if you lose a back tooth that no one usually sees, you could end up with crooked front teeth unless you have your smile repaired. This type of restoration allows you to bite and chew normally again (with the exception of very hard foods). It can also help correct speech problems associated with missing teeth.

Am I a Candidate for a Bridge?

This treatment is designed for patients who have a badly damaged or missing tooth that can’t be restored with a crown or filling. Candidates with good dental hygiene habits are the best candidates. Poor brushing and flossing habits can lead to premature failure of these dental prosthetics due to gum disease and cavities in surrounding teeth. Bridges can be used to restore one, two or three missing teeth in a row. However, some patients with several missing teeth may be better candidates for a partial denture. Patients with a single missing tooth may opt for a dental implant instead of a bridge in some circumstances.