Dr. Masis Yeterian and Dr. Angela Marwaha provide skilled and experienced care to help every patient enjoy optimal oral health and a beautiful smile. For individuals who are missing teeth due to extensive decay, periodontal disease, trauma, the result of an illness, or side effects of medical treatment, we offer a comprehensive range of services to rebuild complete, attractive, and functional smiles.
How Missing Teeth Impact the Health and Function of Your Smile
Missing teeth do more than cause embarrassing gaps in your smile. In the absence of a replacement, they can affect the health and function of your smile by:
- Impairing your ability to smile, speak, and chew with confidence and ease.
- Allowing the adjacent teeth to ever so slowly drift into the unoccupied spaces, thereby changing the alignment of your smile and bite.
- Causing teeth in the opposing arch that no longer occlude with a counterpart to extrude and further compromise your bite.
- Promoting cavities and gum disease as the teeth shift out of place, impact the distribution of biting and chewing forces, and become more difficult to keep clean.
Rebuilding a Complete Smile
Although the consequences of missing teeth can compromise your dental health and overall well-being, modern dentistry offers effective solutions for reestablishing a complete, attractive, and well-functioning smile.
Today, it’s easier than ever to replace missing teeth and achieve aesthetically pleasing and long-lasting results.
Of course, each smile is different, and every patient has unique needs and individual expectations. Helping a patient rebuild a complete and beautiful smile may involve partial or full dentures, fixed dental bridges, or dental implants.
As skilled and experienced providers, Drs. Yeterian and Marwaha offer expert guidance on choosing the most suitable treatment option. Whatever type of tooth replacement method you select, you can be confident that your smile will look great and feel great!
About Dental Bridges
A dental bridge offers a highly effective, stable, and fixed solution for replacing missing teeth. Unlike removable partial dentures that clasp onto the remaining teeth, a dental bridge relies on the support of crowns attached to teeth adjacent to the edentulous area (space without teeth) or strategically placed dental implants.
In addition to restoring the look, feel, and function of a natural smile, they also prevent the teeth from shifting, thereby protecting the patient’s bite alignment.
Far from a new idea, the history of replacing teeth with a fixed dental bridge goes back thousands of years. Ancient civilizations made impressive use of available materials, including animal and human teeth, bones, gold, and ivory, to fill gaps in a person’s smile.
Fortunately, over the millennia, dental materials and technology have evolved. Today, dental bridges are fabricated from the highest-quality dental materials, including porcelain, porcelain-fused-to-metal, and engineered ceramic products like zirconia.
Common Types of Bridges
Depending on the number of missing teeth, the health of the remaining dentition, and other factors, a dental bridge can replace one or multiple missing teeth. Although most resources list a traditional fixed bridge, an implant-supported bridge, a cantilever bridge, and a Maryland bridge as the four main types of bridges, the most commonly recommended ones are the first two.
Traditional Fixed Bridge
A traditional fixed bridge typically requires the preparation and crowning of teeth on either side of the edentulous space. These crowned teeth function to support the artificial ones, known as “pontics,” that span the gap.
Similar to the way a bridge that extends over a body of water relies on the support of strong, sturdy pillars at each end, a dental bridge garners strength and stability from the terminal crowned teeth fused to a single or multiple pontics.
Although related and similar to a traditional fixed bridge, a cantilever fixed bridge differs in one significant way. Only one side of the pontic will get attached to a crown for support.
Implant-Supported Bridges
As the most advanced method for replacing missing teeth, dental implants come the closest to replicating the look, feel, and function of a natural smile. For this reason, an implant-supported bridge often represents the best option in care.
With an implant-supported bridge, there’s no need to prepare, crown, or involve any adjacent natural teeth. Because dental implants behave in much the same way as the roots of natural teeth, they provide all the support a bridge requires.
In addition to providing a self-supporting solution for replacing missing teeth, implant-supported bridges offer the most versatile approach for rebuilding a complete smile. Strategically placed dental implants can support any number of replacement teeth up to an entire set of upper or lower teeth.
Furthermore, as dental implants provide the same stimulation as natural roots to the surrounding jawbone, implant-supported bridges also help prevent the bone shrinkage that naturally occurs when teeth are lost. This feature helps maintain the normal contours of the face.
Preparation for Dental Bridges
Successful treatment outcomes rely upon many things, including a careful assessment of a patient’s oral health, overall well-being, smile goals, lifestyle, and budget. Whether you’re a candidate for a traditional fixed bridge, an implant-supported bridge, or a removable denture will be determined following a comprehensive assessment and discussion with our office. We value patient input and strive to fulfill your expectations.
Before the fabrication and placement of a dental bridge, your mouth must be free from gum disease. If you have gum disease, it will need to be treated first.
For traditional fixed bridges, the crowned teeth must be strong and have sufficient bone surrounding them to provide strong support. Sometimes, a bone-grafting procedure is required to boost bone volume and provide a solid foundation before the fabrication of an implant-supported or traditional bridge.
What to Expect When Getting a Traditional Bridge
Fixed bridges are typically fabricated over the course of multiple visits. The process involves preparing the supporting teeth, taking impressions, placing a temporary bridge, and trying on and cementing the permanent restoration.
Your treatment begins with a complete diagnostic workup to develop an appropriate treatment plan. For patients getting a traditional fixed bridge, the next step in the procedure involves preparing the abutment (supporting) teeth for full-coverage crowns. Depending on the number of teeth involved and other factors, an impression for the permanent bridge can be taken on this visit or the next one. Either way, a temporary bridge or temporary crowns will be placed to cover the prepared teeth and protect them.
Following the preparation of the involved teeth, it’s not unusual to experience some sensitivity and gum soreness. This discomfort typically subsides. However, since the fit of a temporary restoration is often less precise than that of a final permanent crown or bridge, you may still experience some residual sensitivity until treatment is completed.
Until the permanent crown or bridge is placed, it’s essential to be extra careful. Temporary restorations are far less durable than permanent ones. If your temporary gets damages or comes off, please hold on to it, contact our office, and schedule an appointment to replace it. Do not attempt to do this on your own.
Before cementing your new bridge, the shade, contours, fit, and occlusion are checked. Once that is done, your new, permanent restoration is placed. Since you have been wearing a temporary bridge, your bite may feel slightly different, and you may experience some pressure as the new restoration establishes proper contact with the adjacent teeth.
If the bite still feels slightly off after a couple of days or any discomfort persists, please contact our office. You may still require a minor adjustment.
What to Expect When Getting an Implant-Supported Bridge
Surgery to place the dental implants is typically considered a minor surgical procedure and is performed on an outpatient basis. However, the exact extent of the procedure depends on the type and number of dental implants, as well as whether any additional procedures are required to prepare the supporting bone.
As your trusted partner in care, you can rely on our office to keep you well-informed every step of the way. To facilitate the precise placement of dental implants for your implant-supported bridge, we’ll take several detailed diagnostic records, including 3D images of your jaws and the involved area.
Patient care and comfort are our top priorities. We do everything we can to put you at ease and make every visit to our office both comfortable and stress-free. Prior to placing your dental implants, we’ll discuss the anesthesia options and provide detailed pre-operative and post-operative care instructions.
Once the dental implants for your bridge are placed, it can take a few months for them to fully integrate with the surrounding bone. In some cases, a same-day temporary bridge can be placed to provide an immediate and cosmetically pleasing look. However, the permanent bridge typically gets placed when healing and osseointegration (fusion) with the surrounding bone are complete.
Learn More About Dental Bridges Today
Are you interested in dental bridges to fill gaps in your smile? Dr. Masis Yeterian and Dr. Angela Marwaha are here to answer your questions and help you determine whether or not you’re a good candidate. Contact us today at (203) 869-2884or through our website to book an appointment.