Dental Bridge – Lakewood, Dallas, TX
Seamlessly Fill the Gap in Your Smile
Even though teeth are relatively small, missing one or two can have a big impact on your day-to-day life. From eating your favorite foods to feeling good about your appearance, tooth loss can take a toll on your quality of life. If you are missing one, two, or three consecutive teeth, it’s time to fill the gap in your smile! At Dental Center of Lakewood, we’re proud to offer beautiful and reliable dental bridges that are custom-made from the highest quality materials. Give us a call or come visit us today to see how replacing your missing teeth with a dental bridge can change your life!
Why Choose Dental Center of Lakewood For Dental Bridges?
- #1 Traditional & Implant Dental Bridges Available
- #2 High-Quality Materials for Beautiful & Durable Results
- #3 Personalized Care from a Team of Talented Dentists
What Is a Dental Bridge?
A dental bridge is a single restoration that’s utilized to replace one or more missing teeth in a row. Essentially, a bridge is several dental crowns fused together. The crowns on each end are placed on top of the healthy teeth or dental implants on either side of where the missing teeth used to be. One, two, or three replacement teeth are supported between them to “bridge” the empty space and complete your smile.
Types of Dental Bridges
At Dental Center of Lakewood, we’re proud to offer two different types of dental bridges. During your initial consultation, we’ll break down the pros and cons of each option, as well as which type we recommend for your unique needs and preferences.
Traditional Dental Bridge
A traditional dental bridge is supported by the remaining healthy teeth on either side of where the missing tooth used to be. These are called abutment teeth, and a thin layer of enamel needs to be removed from them in order to make room for the dental bridge to fit over them. In most cases, it only takes two quick and easy appointments to replace missing teeth with a traditional dental bridge.
Implant Bridge
An implant bridge looks just like a traditional bridge with one large exception: how it’s placed. Instead of being supported by the abutment teeth, and implant bridge is secured on top of two small titanium posts that are inserted directly into the jawbone like natural tooth roots. These dental implants provide a completely self-supporting and lifelike tooth replacement, but they take more time and effort to get.
Benefits of Getting a Dental Bridge
While modern dentistry offers many different ways to replace missing teeth, dental bridges are a reliable and classic option that’s better than ever before. Traditional dental bridges offer benefits like:
- Beautiful, durable, and natural-looking replacement teeth thanks to high-quality materials.
- Prevention of many issues related to tooth loss, such as dental drift and bite misalignment.
- Ability to significantly improve chewing, speaking, and confidence.
- A relatively quick treatment timeline for a solution that can last for many years.
Dental Bridges FAQs
Can You Take a Dental Bridge Out?
Ultimately, no – you can’t take a dental bridge out once it’s been placed in your mouth. This device should stay in place for many years if all goes well. If it fails or has an issue, only a dental professional can safely remove it.
The reason you can’t remove a dental bridge is due to its makeup. A standard one is cemented to your abutments (i.e., remaining natural teeth), so trying to take it out forcefully would harm your smile. You’d then need further dental work to correct this additional damage.
Is a Partial Denture the Same as a Bridge?
In reality, a partial denture isn’t the same as a dental bridge. These two devices work differently and have distinct features.
Note that a partial denture is removable while a dental bridge isn’t. In other words, it’s designed to be taken out for cleaning and sleeping purposes at any time. Meanwhile, a bridge is anchored by dental crowns fitted over two of your remaining teeth. You should only ever have it removed by a dentist.
Secondly, a partial denture tends to be more versatile than a dental bridge. It can replace several teeth at various points along an arch. In contrast, a dental bridge can only “bridge” the gap left by consecutive missing teeth.
Are Dental Bridges Safe?
When placed by an experienced dentist, a dental bridge should be highly safe. It won’t harm your remaining teeth, gums, or the rest of your mouth.
You see, dental bridges don’t use toxic materials. Metal ones don’t contain any mercury that could cause poison-related effects. Plus, tooth-colored bridges made from ceramic or zirconia are also toxin-free. It’s very unlikely that they’d do anything to damage your body.
All that said, some patients have allergic reactions to dental bridges. Symptoms that come from such incidents can include gum irritation, redness, or swelling. Still, these reactions are usually minor and don’t have any lasting effects. You can simply have your dental bridge altered to use a different material.
Do Dental Bridges Look Natural?
For the most part, today’s dental bridges look very natural and lifelike. They blend with surrounding teeth so well that most people don’t even notice them.
The reason modern dental bridges look so great stems from their materials. By relying on metal-free materials like ceramic and zirconia, these restorations can color-match your other teeth. This matching allows the bridges to look remarkably like tooth enamel.
Of course, dental bridges made of metals like gold and silver won’t look natural. Their materials are too flashy for them to blend with other teeth. However, these kinds are normally used for teeth not visible in your smile.