The Many Benefits of Bridges

Even when you practice the best dental hygiene, you can end up losing teeth. In fact, approximately 69% of Americans 35-44 years old have lost at least one permanent tooth, and your risk of tooth loss only increases with age. 

Further, ignoring lost or missing teeth increases your chances of additional problems, impacting everything from your appearance and self-confidence to your overall dental health.

At Arya Dental in Fullerton, California, our talented team specializes in restorative dental treatments that repair or replace damaged or missing teeth, including dental crowns, implants, and bridges. Here are just a few of the many reasons to consider a dental bridge if you have one or more missing teeth.

They provide customizable solutions

Several types of dental bridges can eliminate gaps in your teeth. They each work by anchoring one or more artificial teeth (pontics) in between abutment teeth, those teeth that surround the gap.

Common types of dental bridges include:

• Traditional: Securing a pontic in place by dental crowns on abutment teeth
• Cantilever: Cementing a pontic to a single abutment tooth
• Maryland: Bonding a pontic to abutment teeth with a metal or porcelain framework, instead of crowns
• Implant-supported: Anchoring a pontic in place to dental implants, not crowns or frameworks

Because of this flexibility, dental bridges offer versatile tooth replacement solutions — even if surrounding abutment teeth are broken or diseased.

They restore stability

Your teeth play a significant role in creating a strong and healthy mouth. When you lose a tooth, this structure weakens, and neighboring teeth can start shifting into the empty space. 

Filling these missing areas in your mouth with the dental bridge not only corrects your smile, but it also brings stability and structure back to your teeth, while blending seamlessly with your natural smile.

They repair tooth and bite function

Losing teeth significantly impacts your ability to talk and chew normally. While this can be an embarrassing problem, it can also affect your ability to eat, cause pain or discomfort, and even lead to tooth damage. Plus, having empty sockets in your mouth can create more areas for food particles to collect, increasing your risk of gum disease and more tooth loss. 

Using a dental bridge to address these empty areas can restore proper function to your mouth and protect your long-term oral health.

They maintain your facial structure

You may not know it, but your teeth do a lot more than help you chew; they also affect your appearance. A healthy tooth has a root underneath the surface of your gums, holding it firmly in place. This structure stimulates your bone and maintains structure in your jaw. 

When you lose a tooth, you can start losing bone at the site of the missing tooth, and the area can start to collapse.

They make tooth replacement quick and simple

Among the many benefits of dental bridges, one of the strongest is speed. In many cases, we can install a standard bridge in two easy office visits. That’s because the process simply involves preparing your abutment teeth and fitting you with a temporary bridge. 

Then, when your permanent bridge comes back from our in-house lab, you return to our office. At that appointment, we remove your temporary bridge, clean your mouth, and bond your permanent restoration in place.

This simple and streamlined approach can make bridges an ideal option, especially if you have health concerns preventing you from undergoing oral surgery or a more involved tooth replacement option, like dental implants.

Don't wait to replace your missing teeth. Contact our Fullerton, California, office today by calling 714-646-9546 to schedule a consultation.