When a gap forms in your smile, whether due to injury or gum disease, then you need treatment to avoid major complications. Which is why we may recommend creating and placing a fixed dental bridge. In today’s blog, your Allen, TX, dentist talks about how we address minor cases of tooth loss.
Tackling Your Tooth Loss
Obviously, losing teeth means major negative changes to the beauty of your smile. You may feel embarrassed and could avoid social interactions, causing your quality of life to drop. But losing a tooth also alters your oral health. Teeth around the gap could begin to drift from position, which causes dental misalignment and could also increase the risk of tooth decay and gum disease as well. The missing teeth in your smile also upsets your bite’s balance and could strain your jaw joints, leading to painful disorders like TMD or bruxism (teeth grinding). To protect your smile, consider filling the gap with a prosthetic!
A Custom Dental Bridge
Each bridge we create is designed to replace between one and up to three missing teeth in a row. We custom-make them to ensure they fit comfortably and offer a lifelike appearance. To begin, we will administer a numbing agent and then gently remove tooth structure from the teeth on either side of the gap. These are known as abutment teeth. Next, detailed digital images and measurements will be taken of these teeth. We use them in a dental lab setting to design and craft the finished product. The bridge will contain pontics, or replacement teeth, with crowns attached to each end. We create them from ceramic, which can handle daily bite forces and pressure, and can also be color-matched to blend with your smile. When the prosthetic is ready, we will place the crowns onto the abutment teeth, securing the new ones in place. Your new bridge is ready to provide up to 15 years of quality tooth replacement.
Preventing Further Tooth Loss
To help prevent further tooth loss from occurring, and to help safeguard the abutment teeth keeping your bridge in place, you need to practice good oral hygiene. This means brushing and flossing your teeth daily, eating a healthier diet, and seeing our team for checkups and cleanings every six months. If you have any questions about how we address tooth loss, then contact our team today to learn more.
Talk To Your Allen, TX Dentist About Prosthetics
Our team is ready to help you tackle a missing tooth with a custom prosthetic. If you want to know more, or if you are ready to book an appointment, contact your Allen, TX, dentist, Dr. Torrens-Parker, by calling 469-342-6644.
