We do Bridge procedures on patients in our office. A bridge is a prosthetic device made of the same materials as a crown to replace missing teeth or a tooth. Basically, if there is one or more missing teeth, missing teeth of the adjacent area are reduced down for a crown, and mold is taken off the entire area. Crowns are placed in the areas where teeth are missing, which rest on the gums for support and are attached to the crowns with adjacent teeth to keep them in place. Visit the Crowns page for more information on crowns.
How do I know if I need bridges?
Bridges are recommended for patients in several situations. One situation is if the patient is medically compromised, including osteoporosis, bone density, diabetes, heart disease, or any medical issue that prevents good healing. Another situation is for patients who do not have enough bone for an implant. In the case that there is no bone, it is more beneficial to replace that missing tooth or teeth with an implant because it may be detrimental to the entire dentition (all the teeth) when a key tooth is missing. Missing teeth can cause all the other teeth to move around, including the eruption of the opposing tooth until it falls out!!
If a patient has enough bone, it is highly recommended to place an implant because we do not want to cut down perfectly good teeth to replace one tooth. Cost is very similar to do either a bridge or an implant as the cost for one implant and one crown would approximately be very close to the cost of the three crowns.
To maintain bridges, it is important to maintain good dental hygiene by regularly brushing your teeth and flossing with a threader floss or waterpik under the bridges between the teeth.
Call (818) 751-5100
