General Dentistry

Bridges

Same day appointments available

Duration

60mins

Appointments

Anaesthetic

Yes

What are dental bridges?

When considering replacing missing teeth, there are a number of options available. This includes dentures, dental implants and dental bridges. A dental bridge is a tooth shaped fixed dental appliance which connects the teeth either side of the missing tooth/teeth.

Whilst dental implants are fast becoming the gold standard to replace missing teeth, dental bridges can be utilised where implants cannot physically be placed, for instance if there is not enough bone, or there are some medical conditions which would advise against implant treatment.

Dental bridges are also much less costly than implants and can be used as a temporary measure if implants are to be considered in the future.

Types of Dental Bridges

There are two broad categories of dental bridges:

Resin retained

These type of dental bridges are much preferred nowadays due to the fact that they are less invasive and destructive to the adjacent teeth. Very little if any adjustment of the adjacent teeth is required.

The prosthetic tooth which is replacing the space has a metallic wing attached to it. This wing has a specially coated surface which will help create a stronger bond once cemented to the tooth adjacent to the space

Conventional

The advent of dental implants has rendered conventional dental bridges a less popular choice to replace missing teeth, as this type of bridge requires the teeth either side of the space to be adjusted quite heavily. Once these teeth have been adjusted, the bridge then sits on the teeth either side, which then closes the missing space.