When you suffer from the loss of a tooth, this could mean serious trouble for your overall oral health and appearance. With a dental bridge, we can film these gaps with a lifelike prosthetic. In today’s blog, your Allen, TX, dentist talks about how we create and place a custom-made dental bridge that blends with your smile.
The Dangers of the Gaps in Your Smile
Losing a tooth could mean an embarrassing gap in your smile, one that makes you feel self-conscious. However, there are also major oral health impacts. For example, the nearby teeth could drift from position due to this new gap. The resulting misalignment not only alters smile beauty, but increases the risk of issues like tooth decay and even periodontal disease. The gaps and misalignment could also strain the bite balance and jaw joints, which makes the onset of painful disorders like TMD or bruxism (chronic teeth grinding) more likely. But by addressing tooth loss, you avoid these complications, and you can also eat and speak without complication.
Crafting a Dental Bridge
To begin, we will administer a numbing agent and then remove structure from the teeth on each side of the gap in your smile. We use the information to design and craft the bridge, which consists of new teeth with crowns attached to each end. We create them from materials like ceramic, which are very strong and able to absorb daily bite forces. But the material is also stain-resistant and can be shaded to blend with your smile too! When ready, we will attach the crown portions to your abutment teeth, which secures your new teeth firmly in place. The prosthetic will last about 10 to 15 years on average!
Keeping Your Smile Full
To protect your new prosthetic and also your natural teeth, you need to continue to brush and floss daily, and that includes around your prosthetic. Be sure you clean the spaces between the top of the gums and the bottom of the prosthetic too. Make time to see our team for a checkup and cleaning as well! These actions help prevent worsening tooth loss, and allow your new bridge to be there for you for years to come.
If you have any questions about treating tooth loss, or about how we create a custom dental bridge, then contact our team today to learn more. We want you to smile with confidence again!
Talk To Your Allen, TX Dentist About Prosthetic Dentistry
We would like to help maintain a complete smile and avoid the complications of a missing tooth. To find out more about our solutions for one or more missing teeth, then contact your Allen, TX, dentist, Dr. Torrens-Parker, by calling 469-342-6644.
