When you have lost a tooth, we can help with a holistic and lifelike dental prosthetic. Dental bridges can address between one and three missing teeth in a row, and we create them with a metal-free porcelain. In today’s blog, your Lake Orion, MI, dentist talks about restoring smiles with a porcelain bridge.
The Risks of Your Minor Tooth Loss
We recommend a dental bridge when you have lost a tooth, or as many as three in a row. Minor tooth loss can cause you to feel embarrassed about your appearance, or even lead to hiding your smile from the world. But the gap could also lead to misalignment, as teeth drift due to the open space in your smile. This alignment change could increase the risk of tooth decay and gum disease, as the teeth are more difficult to brush and floss. The changes in your bite balance could also strain the jaw joints so you are more likely to develop TMJ disorder and bruxism (teeth grinding). For some, the gap could even alter how they eat and speak. But don’t let tooth loss change your quality of life, talk to our team about a holistic porcelain bridge, one that looks like natural teeth.
The Benefits of Porcelain Prosthetics
Our team will craft them from porcelain. This material is metal-free, so it is safe for all ages, from kids to adults and seniors. The porcelain material can also absorb daily bite forces with ease, so you have a durable chewing surface. The material is translucent like tooth enamel and we can even color match it to blend with the rest of your smile, so you have a more attractive appearance. With proper care and attention, this can stay in place for up to 15 years and ensure your bite is properly balanced too, so you avoid jaw joint strain and complications like TMJ disorder and bruxism.
Attaching Your Bridge
To begin, our team will numb the abutment teeth, the ones on each side of the gap in your smile. Once we do, we can gently remove structure from them to make room for the crown portion of your new prosthetic. We will take detailed digital images and measurements with advanced technology, allowing us to design and craft your new prosthetic with precision and accuracy. The bridge will contain one or more new teeth, with crowns on one or both ends. We then attach the crown portion to the abutment teeth to secure your new ones firmly in place.
Maintaining Your New Teeth
Being attached to the abutment teeth with crowns means that we don’t have to remove them for cleaning or soaking, they are secured and function like natural teeth. But you still need to care for them to avoid major complications like tooth decay and gum disease, which could threaten the stability of your new teeth. Make sure you brush and floss your bridge as you would your natural teeth, and also clean the space between the top of the gums and the bottom of the prosthetic, where food particles could become trapped. You should see our team for a routine checkup and cleaning every six months too, so we can examine the new teeth and ensure they continue to offer lifelike and durable tooth replacement. We also remove the plaque and tartar that could threaten your teeth, both new and old.
Partial Dentures
If you have multiple gaps across the arch of your smile, too severe for a dental bridge but not advanced enough to require a full denture, we have a partial denture. The partial contains new teeth designed to fit in these gaps, and they are attached to a special base that looks like gum tissue. Metal clasps will connect to natural teeth to secure the partial, and these can offer up to ten years of tooth replacement before they need to be changed or replaced.
If you have any questions about how we tackle minor tooth loss with a bridge to help you smile with confidence and enjoy your best smile, then contact our team today. Don’t let missing teeth cause trouble for your oral health and overall bite function, reach out to our team today to learn more.
Talk to Your Lake Orion, MI Dentist’s Office About Holistic Tooth Replacement
Our team wants to help you enjoy a beautiful and whole smile again with one of our custom and lifelike dental bridges or even a set of partial dentures, also customized for your smile. To schedule an appointment for our custom dental prosthetics, then call Lake Orion Family Dentistry at (248)693-6213!
