The Benefits Of Dental Bridges

Losing a tooth means an embarrassing gap in your smile. Over time, missing teeth also mean poor oral health and a greater risk of further tooth loss. In order to fill the gaps in your smile, we may suggest a custom-made dental bridge for patients in Woodland Hills, CA. How do we create them though, and can we support them with dental implants?

The Impact of Tooth Loss

What makes tooth loss such a serious concern? In addition to the impacts on your self-confidence and appearance, missing teeth often cause surrounding teeth to drift from position. This change often leads to misalignment, a major cause of tooth decay and gum disease, as proper dental care becomes difficult. Gaps in your smile also place pressure on the jaw joints, leading to TMJ disorder and/or bruxism in some cases. Once your body picks up on the missing tooth root, it will stop supplying the jawbone with doses of calcium and phosphorus. Without these nutrients, the bone tissue deteriorates and leads to more missing teeth. Finally, gaps in your smile could cause difficulty eating or even speaking clearly.

Dental Bridges

We often prescribe the dental prosthetic for those with more minor cases of missing teeth, such as between one and three lost teeth. To prepare the patient, we first remove a small section of tooth structure from the teeth on either side of the gap in your smile. We then take detailed impressions of your smile. The impressions enable a dental lab to design and create the bridge. The prosthetic contains your new teeth, with crowns attached to each end. We place the crowns on the prepared teeth, which anchors the new ones in place. With proper care and attention, they could last between 10 and 15 years.

Implant-Supported Bridges

We also have a more secure alternative. We won’t need to remove tooth structure from surrounding teeth, as we use dental implant instead of crowns to secure your new teeth. The dental implants will be inserted into the jaw, bonding with the jawbone and preventing loss of jawbone density. We then attach the prosthetic, offering a secure tooth loss solution that could last decades. If you have any questions about the dangers of missing teeth, or if you’re ready to take a look at our traditional or implant-secured dental bridges, contact our team today.

Woodland Hills Dental Offers Tooth Loss Solutions

We offer a natural looking and secure solution to minor tooth loss with our custom prosthetics. Schedule a consultation to discuss the benefits of a custom dental prosthetic by calling Woodland Hills Dental Arts in Woodland Hills, CA, today at (818) 347-5124. We also proudly work with patients from Thousand Oaks, Westlake, Encino, Sherman Oaks, and all other surrounding areas.