It is extremely common for adults to have a missing tooth. The American Dental Association says that an average adult has three or more missing or decayed teeth. A popular solution to this problem is to fill the missing space with an artificial replacement tooth called a dental bridge. There are four common types of dental bridges in Chicago.
Traditional Dental Bridge
This is the most commonly used type of bridge. This method is used when you still have natural teeth on both sides of the gap in your teeth. Traditional bridges are generally made of ceramic or porcelain fused with metal. The downside to traditional bridges is that the dentist has to remove some enamel from your healthy teeth to make room for the dental crowns to connect the bridge.
Maryland Bridges
A Maryland Bridge is often used to replace teeth towards the front of the mouth. These bridges use porcelain or metal bands to connect a pontic tooth to the back of existing natural teeth. Maryland Bridges do not require enamel to be removed, but they also do not offer as strong of a binding.
Cantilever Bridges
Similar to the traditional bridges, Cantilever Bridges are connected to the natural teeth surrounding the gap. However, they are used when there are only natural teeth on one side of the gap. The dentist will have to remove enamel from the one tooth that will be connected to the bridge.
Implant-Supported Bridges
Implant-Supported Bridges are similar to traditional bridges, except they are supported by dental implants instead of natural teeth. A dental implant is placed in all the spots where there are missing teeth and they are bridged together. This takes two surgeries: one to put the implant in and one to bridge them.
Dental Bridges are a widely used and effective solution to fill in missing teeth and leave patients with a more confident smile. At Family Dental Care, we are very experienced with implementing all the different types of dental bridges in Chicago.
