Dental Bridges – Flint, MI
Bridge the Gap in Your Smile with a Customized Prosthetic
No matter how many teeth you’re missing, having gaps in your smile can have a drastic impact on your confidence, oral health, and comfortability as you go through your day-to-day life. Whether you’re having difficulty eating, speaking, or smiling with pride due to tooth loss, our team at Healthy Smiles Dental Care offers multiple custom-tailored treatments to rebuild the function and look of your grin. Call our office today to learn more about dental bridges in Flint and how they may be able to help you.
Why Choose Healthy Smiles Dental Care for Dental Bridges?
- We See Patients of All Ages
- In-House Dental Implant Placement
- We’re Dental Insurance-Friendly
What is a Dental Bridge?
A dental bridge is a dental restoration that’s comprised of two different parts that are fused together: dental crowns that anchor the entire prosthetic in place, and free-standing replacement teeth called pontics. Both of these components can be crafted from a variety of materials that are custom shaped and shaded to be virtually indistinguishable from your natural teeth, like porcelain and ceramic. They’re specially designed to replace anywhere from one to four consecutive missing teeth and can be attached to dental implants for added stability and strength.
Types of Dental Bridges
Depending on your personal preferences and smile and aesthetic goals, you will be able to decide between two different types of dental bridges in Flint. Our dentists will walk you through what each process would look like to help you choose the one that’s best for you.
Traditional Bridge
Traditional bridges are anchored to the smile with two dental crowns attached to either end of the pontics. Before your bridge arrives, your dentist will prepare the two teeth at either end of the gap in your smile by removing a small amount of tooth enamel. This will allow the crowns to fit seamlessly atop the teeth and anchor the restoration within the mouth.
Implant Bridge
Unlike traditional bridges, implant bridges aren’t secured to your existing teeth. Instead, they’ll be anchored to two dental implants that are surgically placed below the gumline and into the jawbone at either edge of the space in your arch. This allows them to function like your natural tooth roots, providing stimulation and blood flow to the area to keep the bone from deteriorating over time. Additionally, implant bridges have much longer lifespans of around 25 or more years.
The Benefits of Getting a Dental Bridge
Regardless of what type of dental bridge you get, you’ll be able to enjoy a wide variety of benefits by restoring your smile, including:
- Enhanced eating and speaking abilities
- Preservation of your dental alignment
- Improved oral health
- Boosted confidence
- Long-lasting replacement teeth
Dental Bridges FAQs
Is Getting a Dental Bridge Painful?
Before placing your dental bridge, our dentist will use a local anesthetic to numb the teeth, rendering the procedure completely painless. If you need a little more help sitting comfortably through the procedure, we offer dental sedation options like nitrous oxide and oral conscious sedation. Dental bridges also serve to help keep your teeth from drifting out of place, which can prevent future issues down the road.
You will probably experience some sensitivity in the treated teeth for a few days after the procedure, but this can be addressed with over-the-counter pain medications. If your dental bridge is secured with implants, you’re likely to experience some soreness that will fade over time, but we will provide you with detailed aftercare instructions to minimize pain. If you experience discomfort that worsens as time goes on, contact our office.
How Long Should a Dental Bridge Last?
Dental bridges usually last anywhere from five to fifteen years. With excellent care, metal-free bridges can last for as long as metal ones. The deciding factor in how long your bridge can last is how well you take care of it. Bad habits like smoking, teeth grinding, chewing on ice, and using your teeth to open packages can also cause it to fail sooner. Since the front teeth bear less pressure than the back teeth, dental bridges placed in the front of the mouth tend to last longer. While a bridge supported by dental implants will need to be replaced eventually, the implants themselves can last for decades if properly maintained.
How Many Teeth Can a Dental Bridge Replace?
Dental bridges are customized to meet the needs of individual patients and can be used to replace anywhere from one to four consecutive missing teeth. Longer bridges are less stable, so it can be risky to use a bridge to replace three or more teeth, especially if the anchor teeth aren’t in great shape. However, having a bridge supported with dental implants can lower this risk, as implants are just as strong as natural teeth.
Do Dental Bridges Feel Natural?
Each bridge is uniquely designed to fit the patient’s mouth, and the teeth supporting one are treated to provide maximum comfort. Once you get used to wearing a bridge, it should not feel awkward even if you can feel a slight difference when you run your tongue across it. While wearing a dental bridge can take some getting used to, it should start to feel increasingly natural within a few days. Because of the durable materials used to make them, bridges can stand up to everyday chewing forces, so eating with one shouldn’t feel odd. Once you get used to wearing yours, it should be so comfortable that you might forget that you are missing teeth at all.