Partials & Bridges
Dental Bridges in South Bend, IN
The Importance of Replacing Missing Teeth
It’s important to replace missing teeth because they help hold each other in place. Over time, a tooth next to an empty socket will begin to lean toward the open space and may eventually fall out. This not only changes your bite but diminishes your appearance and increases your risk of tooth decay.
The dental bridge procedure is a great option if you only need to replace one tooth. Likewise, you may wish to consider an implant-supported bridge if you have two or three missing teeth in a row.
The Dental Bridge Procedure
To place a traditional dental bridge, we'd need to prepare the receiving natural teeth. This involves removing some of the enamel to ensure the new crowns fit over top. Then, we'd take dental impressions and send them to the lab responsible for creating the permanent dental bridge. In the meantime, we'd place temporary restorations over the prepared teeth to protect them until you arrive for your second appointment.
We'll call you back to our office once your permanent dental bridge is ready. During this appointment, our dentist will check that the porcelain bridge is the proper shape, shade, and size to match the rest of your smile. Once everything is perfect, our dentist will bond the bridge in place and check your bite to ensure the restoration fits comfortably and looks natural.
The procedure to place an implant-supported bridge is similar except that we would place the restoration over dental implants instead of natural teeth.
