When a tooth is lost, or if you lose two to three in a row, then you need help. With a dental bridge, our team can create a prosthetic that looks natural! In today’s blog, your Ankeny, IA, dentist talks about how we create and place a lifelike and durable dental bridge.
The Causes and Dangers of Missing Teeth
What causes a tooth to become lost? A number of factors could leave a gap behind in your smile. For some, this could be due to an injury to the face or jaw. Otherwise, we may lose a tooth to advanced decay or even an infection. The most common cause is typically periodontitis, the advanced stage of gum disease. When you lose teeth, this gap could cause nearby teeth to move, creating misalignment that alerts your appearance further and also leads to issues with your oral health. Missing teeth also increase the risk of TMJ disorder and bruxism (teeth grinding), and could even impact how you eat and speak. But with a custom prosthetic, we can fill this gap in your smile with lifelike results!
Creating a Dental Bridge
Each dental prosthetic we provide for our patients will be custom-made for their smile. With a bridge, we will numb the abutment teeth, the ones on each side of the gap in your smile. We then gently remove structure from it to make room for your prosthetic. Our team takes detailed digital images of the teeth and the gap with an intraoral camera, and use these to make a 3D model of your smile. With this model, we can design and craft your new prosthetic.
Securing Your New Smile
The dental bridge will be made from ceramic, which means it can sustain daily bite forces and pressures, and also be shaded for a lifelike appearance and to ensure it blends with your smile as a whole. We connect the crown portions of the prosthetic to the abutment teeth to anchor your new ones firmly in place. You will be able to smile with confidence and enjoy optimal oral health again! We can provide instructions for caring for your new teeth and ensuring they can last for years to come. We could also support them with dental implants, which can make them last longer and prevent the need to remove structure from abutment teeth.
If you have any questions about how we treat tooth loss, or if you want to start the process now and improve your oral health, smile, beauty, and bite function, then reach out to our team. You can even use your remaining dental bridges if you see us now!
Dental Impressions Offers a Full Smile Again
We want to ensure you greet 2026 with a full smile! To schedule an appointment for a dental prosthetic, then call Dental Impressions in Ankeny, IA today at (515) 965-0230.
