A dental bridge can replace one missing tooth or several consecutive missing teeth to restore a functional smile. At Pioneer Valley Dental Arts in Longmeadow, MA, Dr. Evans and Dr. Ziemba offer custom ceramic dental bridges that can be made to fit comfortably and blend with the appearance of your natural smile.
Modern dental bridges are almost always fixed for a secure solution to missing teeth that enables you to enjoy the best quality of life.
Dental Bridges: What To Expect
The dental bridge process is multi step and will begin with a consultation to evaluate your dental health and discuss your personal goals. The goal of your treatment is to restore health, function and aesthetics to your smile for long term oral health.
Dr. Evans or Dr. Ziemba will begin your treatment by preparing adjacent teeth to support the new bridge. In most cases this involves the placement of a dental crown to strengthen the teeth that the dental bridge will be attached to. The next step will be dental impressions to be used in the creation of your custom dental bridge to ensure a comfortable fit.
A temporary bridge is often placed while your new, custom appliance is being fabricated in a dental lab. Once ready, you will come in for a final visit and the permanent placement of your dental bridge.
Dental Bridge or Dental Implant?
During your consultation, Dr. Evans or Dr. Ziemba will discuss the most suitable replacement options for you, but there are several important factors taken into consideration when choosing between dental bridges and implants:
- Overall health and bone structure: Only patients in good health, with good bone structure will be candidates for dental implants. In some cases, bone grafting procedures can be complete if additional support is needed. If you are not a candidate for dental implants, a dental bridge may be the best solution.
- Cost: While the cost of a dental bridge may be more affordable in the short term than a dental implant, implants typically provide a better long term solution and are less likely to need repair or replacement in the future.
- Stable restoration: Dental implants are the closest thing to a natural tooth. The dental implant is anchored to the bone, allowing the patient to eat whatever they want, brush and floss normally, and have unaffected speech. While the dental bridge itself is extremely durable, the concern is for the health of neighboring teeth. If one of the anchor teeth fails or needs dental work, it compromises the entire dental bridge.
- Procedure and recovery: Dental implant surgery is a relatively comfortable and quick procedure that can typically be completed in the comfort of our Longmeadow dentist office. There will be a 3-6 month recovery period before the final restoration is completed in order to allow for sufficient healing and integration of the post.