Benefits of dental bridges
Dental bridge is a stable prosthetic process that is made with the aim to replace one or more missing teeth, fill the gap at that point and fuse the existing ones together. The addition of artificial teeth can ensure a highly aesthetic result, because it can be designed in such a way, in order to resemble the colour, the shape and the geometry of natural teeth. This procedure can provide a sense of continuity in the alignment of the teeth, without being noticed.
Types of dental bridges
Dental bridges are divided into three categories, depending on the material they are made of and are characterised as metal-ceramic, all ceramic and zirconia. Metal – ceramic artificial teeth are comprised by metal interior surrounded by ceramic and all ceramic dental bridges are totally made of porcelain. On the other hand, zirconia dental bridges can either have a zirconia core, which is covered by porcelain, or they are made entirely of zirconia.
Zirconia is a natural material, well known for its hardness, durability in time and beauty, which can provide highly aesthetic results. This material can replace black interiors that act as a framework in a porcelain dental bridge, due to their transparency, which allows light to penetrate. This resulting effect helps dental bridges resemble to natural teeth and makes external observers incapable to spot the differences between natural and artificial teeth. Dental bridges made of zirconia are discreet, biocompatible and hypo allergic, without leaving an unpleasant taste in the mouth.
Reasons for placement
The placement of artificial teeth is performed in order to fill a gap that caused by tooth decay, gingivitis, periodontitis or injury. Even though the aim of artificial teeth placement is aesthetic restoration, the practical benefits cannot be declined. The assistance in chewing process, the protection of surrounding teeth and the maintenance of denture structure by controlling the forces applied into the oral cavity, constitutes issues of vital importance. For this reason, if this gap remains uncovered, there is a high risk of teeth movement, teeth weakness and gap formation between teeth.
The procedure
The procedure of artificial teeth placement usually demands three sessions. In the first session, the dentist prepares the oral cavity to receive the dental bridge by sharpening the teeth on the top of which the dental bridge will be placed. After that he proceeds to colour testing, in order to create a dental bridge that matches with the colour of the teeth. Then, he measures the area in which the artificial construction will be fitted and finally adds a temporary dental bridge to ease the patient.
In the second session, the temporary construction is removed and tests are carried out. At this session the dentist tries to check if the new dental bridge fits perfectly to the gap and remains stable at its position. Then, the temporary dental bridge is repositioned for on more time. Nowadays, the second session can be skipped, due to the fact that digital means can ensure high accuracy and the testament stage becomes unnecessary.
Finally, in the third session, the temporary dental bridge is removed completely and replaced by the final dental bridge structure. The dental bridge is welded with special adhesives that are very strong and do not allow any detachment. Also, it has to taken into account that only a specialised dentist can do this process.
Results
The result provided after the placement of a dental bridge, is completely natural without differing from the rest of the teeth. The lifespan of a dental bridge can range from 10 to 15 years, a factor that varies between patients, but it is totally related to good oral hygiene and frequent visits to the dentist.
