Your bite, your tongue, and your cheeks all contribute different forces inside of your mouth. Once a tooth goes missing, all of those forces change. Neighboring teeth will begin to shift into the open space, and bone loss may even occur. This can affect your bite and cause other teeth to reposition themselves and cause further damage to your smile. In order to prevent these problems, Dr. Stark and Dr. Norden may suggest a bridge to fill the space, which is a prosthetic tooth that is bonded to the adjacent teeth.
As part of the bridge process at Derby Family Dentistry, the two teeth that are on either side of the space will have a portion of their exterior surface removed. This allows the prosthetic crown to be properly anchored in place. After the area has been prepared, our dentists will affix the bridge using a special dental bond that secures the new tooth in place. The new restoration will look and function just like your natural teeth, so no one will be able to tell the difference. In some cases, more than one tooth may be missing, and a bridge will have two or more prosthetic crowns between anchoring teeth.
If you think that your smile may be improved by a dental bridge, we invite you to call our office to learn more.