Should a gap arise in your smile due to tooth loss, you need replacement to avoid major oral health issues. For minor tooth loss, we can help secure a dental bridge. In today’s blog, your Ankeny, IA, dentist talks about how we support new and lifelike replacement teeth with a dental bridge.
The Loss of Your Natural Teeth
Even the loss of one natural tooth could mean trouble for your oral health. For example, when you lose a tooth to a cavity, infection, injury, or as a result of gum disease, this leaves behind a gap in your smile. The surrounding teeth could drift to create misalignment and with it, changes to your appearance and a greater risk of tooth decay and infection. There could be changes to your bite balance too, which may place strain on your jaw joints and increase the risk of TMJ disorder and bruxism (teeth grinding). You may also feel embarrassed about your appearance, which can have a negative impact on your overall quality of life. But we can help prevent these complications with the placement of a dental bridge!
Crafting a Custom Prosthetic
There is no one-size-fits-all option, we will take time to create and secure a custom-made prosthetic that looks natural and provides a balanced bite. To begin, we will need to numb the teeth on each side of the gap with a local anesthetic. Once we do, we will be able to comfortably remove structure from these abutment teeth. Our team then gathers detailed images and measurements of these prepared teeth and the gap with digital imaging technology. With this information, we can design and craft a dental bridge. The prosthetic will contain new teeth with crowns attached to each end. Made from ceramic, we will be able to shade this to blend with your smile and offer a natural-looking appearance. The durability of the material means your new teeth and crowns can handle daily bite forces and pressures with ease.
Securing Your Dental Bridge
Once your ceramic dental prosthetic is ready, we will check the fit and if necessary, make any final adjustments. We then connect the crown portions to the abutment teeth, securing your new tooth or teeth firmly in place. With the prosthetic, we can replace a single missing tooth or as many as three in a row. If you have any questions about how we take on tooth loss with a dental bridge, then contact our team today!
Dental Impressions Provide Replacement for Missing Teeth
Our team is ready to offer a durable and lifelike solution for lost teeth. To schedule your appointment and learn more about addressing missing teeth, then call Dental Impressions in Ankeny, IA today at (515) 965-0230.
