Bridges

How Bridges Can Help

If you have missing teeth, there is a natural looking and ideal solution for correcting the problem—a bridge. These dental appliances provide you with a permanent replacement and one can’t tell the difference between a bridge and your natural teeth. The reason? Bridges are custom-made so they fit the space of the missing tooth or teeth, restoring your teeth’s natural contour. This restoration also assures the proper bite relationship between upper and lower teeth is perfectly aligned.

Bridges are also versatile. When it comes to fixed bridges, you’ll find a number of types. Fixed means the bridge cannot be removed. These types include conventional fixed bridges, cantilever bridges and resin-bonded bridges.  In some cases a bridge can be removed and cleaned by the wearer. However, other types of bridges have to be removed by the dentist.

Bridges are made from different types of materials. The most common materials used to build a bridge are porcelain, gold alloys or combinations of these materials. The end result is the natural restoration of your missing teeth.

There is also an appliance, which is called an implant bridge. These are attached to an area in the mouth that is below the gum tissue or the bone.

What to Do While Wearing a Temporary Crown or Bridge

Temporary dental crowns are just a temporary cover until your permanent crown is ready. We recommend the following to ensure that your temporary crown serves you well.

• Don't be surprised if you have some mild discomfort around the gums of the temporary or around the area where anesthesia was applied for the next couple of days. Rinsing with warm salt water will help accelerate the healing of the gums.

• For pain management, an effective pain regimen is to take Ibuprofen (Advil) 400mg + Acetaminophen (Tylenol) 500mg together every 4-6 hours as needed for pain. Do not exceed 2400mg Ibuprofen or 3000mg Acetaminophen daily.

• Avoid sticky, chewy foods which have the potential of grabbing and pulling off the temporary crown. Avoid chewing hard foods which could break the temporary crown.

• Brush and floss as normal but when flossing do not pull floss up between the temporary crown. Pull the floss through instead. Lifting up may cause the temporary to come off.