Dental bridges are an excellent way to address one missing tooth, or up to three or four in a row. While traditional options can offer 10 to 15 years of tooth replacement, securing them with dental implants could allow them to last decades! In today’s blog, your Santa Rosa, CA, oral surgeons discuss our dental implant bridges.
The Factors Behind Tooth Loss
Why do we lose our natural teeth anyway? For some, cases of untreated tooth decay and infection could cause them to become lost or require extraction to avoid the spread of infection. Others could lose teeth to accidents or sports injuries. The most common cause is periodontitis, the advanced stage of gum disease. When we lose our teeth, this leads to misalignment, strained jaw joints and bite imbalance, trouble eating and speaking properly, and due to the gradual breakdown of the jaw structure, an increased risk of further tooth loss and a prematurely aged appearance.
Creating a Prosthetic
To address more minor cases of tooth loss, we could recommend a dental bridge. The prosthetic will be custom-made and designed to fit your smile. We first take detailed digital images and x-rays, so we can plan treatment and the placement of implant posts, which we will discuss in the next section. The prosthetic will contain new teeth, known as pontics, with crowns attached to each end. We custom-make these using materials like ceramic, which is translucent like enamel and can actually be color-matched to blend with your smile seamlessly! We then connect the crown portions to freestanding dental implants, securing your teeth in place for decades to come, if not a lifetime!
Dental Implants
We don’t need to remove structure from surrounding teeth, instead we will guide the placement of dental implants, using one or more to secure the prosthetic. Since the body accepts these as natural roots, this prevents the loss of mass and density in the jawbone, allowing your new teeth to last for decades and protecting surrounding teeth from loss. In addition to securing a dental bridge, we can also use them to create fixed full and partial dentures, so you have a full smile again, but one that lasts far longer than traditional bridges or removable dentures.
If you have any questions about treating tooth loss, then contact our team today to learn more. We would love to help you smile with confidence again with the placement of a dental implant bridge.
Ready for Implant Dentistry?
We would like to start your journey to a complete smile today. To learn more about how we treat minor cases of tooth loss, then schedule a consultation by calling Santa Rosa Oral Surgery in Santa Rosa, CA, today at 707-545-4625.