What are Dental Bridges?
In the modern world, there are various dental procedures being offered to restore a tooth’s aesthetics and replace missing teeth. A tooth bridge is one of these procedures, and it best serves the purpose of replacing a missing tooth or filling a gap where something is missing.
Why Do You Need Dental Bridges?
Dental bridges are used to:
- Correct chewing difficulties resulting from missing teeth
- Fix bite problems
- Relieve pain caused by extra stress on the jaw with one or more missing teeth.
- Restore the smile appearance of people with missing teeth
- Restore the natural face shape that is usually lost when you lose several teeth
What is the Procedure for Getting Dental Bridges?
The procedure of getting a tooth bridge from our dentist in Irving, TX, 75061, will involve four steps. They are:
a) Assessment
When you decide to get tooth bridges near you, the first thing you should do is visit a dental office for a consultation and initial assessment. At the office, the dental practitioner will assess your overall oral health condition and recommend the most suitable treatment. If a bridge is chosen as the best treatment plan for you, the dentist will schedule your appointment to fix the tooth bridge into place.
b) Tooth Preparation and Placement of a Temporary Bridge
When you come into the dental office for your appointment, your dentist will numb the area around the placement site, clean the area and remove decay, and this will be followed by the shaping of the abutment teeth to establish a point of support for the dental bridge. The dentist will then take a scan or an impression of your dental structures, and the imprint is used in the lab to make your permanent bridge. In the meantime, a provisional prosthetic dental bridge will be fabricated to be placed on the abutment teeth to protect them.
Next, with the help of a shade-selection guide and in the presence of natural light, you will help the dentist choose the best shade for your crown that matches the teeth adjacent to the missing one.
You will be given the provisional dental bridge that you will wear for some days under strict diet and oral hygiene guidelines. Should the provisional restoration come off prior to your scheduled appointment, make sure you notify your dentist immediately.
c) Placement of Permanent Tooth Bridge
Your dentist will call you to the office to install the bridge once your final prosthetic arrives from the lab. The temporary bridge is removed carefully, followed by the temporary cement, and the area is cleaned before fixing the permanent tooth bridge. Once the bite alignment and appearance are confirmed, dental cement is applied to permanently install the bridge.
d) Follow-up
Make sure you stick to the post-treatment instructions given by our dentist at 75061 and avoid missing the follow-up appointment, as they help ascertain that the bridge procedure is a success. The dentist will give you the necessary caring tips that will help maintain the bridge.
What are the Benefits of Getting Dental Bridges?
Below are some benefits that come from getting dental bridges:
- Enhancement of smile appearance
- It facilitates even bite force distribution by re-adjusting one’s bite
- It helps maintain your normal face shape
- Improves speech and word pronunciation
- Prevents shifting of teeth into the space left by a missing tooth
- It improves one’s ability to eat and chew
What is the Cost of Getting Dental Bridges?
The cost of getting a tooth bridge at Sterling Dental Center is not fixed but rather fluctuates depending on several factors. Some of these factors include the complexity of the bridge placement procedure, the materials used in the making of the tooth bridge, the experience of the dental practitioner placing the dental bridge, and how fast the fabrication process will be.
What are the Aftercare Tips for Dental Bridges?
Below are the aftercare instructions for tooth bridges:
- Maintain ideal oral and gum care practices
- Avoid hard foods and ice
- Use fluorinated products such as fluoride toothpaste and mouthwashes
- Visit the dentist regularly
Get Tooth Bridges Near You
Irrespective of a good dental care routine, experts still encourage going to the dentist for routine oral checkups. The checkup allows the dentist to detect oral health issues early, should there be any, and the professional cleaning helps remove plaque and tartar, lowering your chances of tooth decay. However, if you are already missing a tooth or have gaps between your teeth, a dental bridge will be of benefit to you in multiple ways. Contact Sterling Dental Center now to get dental bridges in Irving, TX!