leawood dental bridge

Our team understands the negative impacts caused by tooth loss and want to provide our patients with a durable and dependable replacement option, one that looks natural too. With a dental bridge, we can take on minor tooth loss and keep smiles full. In today’s blog, your Leawood, KS, dentist talks about how we create and place dental bridges.

The Causes and Complications of Tooth Loss

How do we lose one of our teeth, or possibly several in a row? Missing teeth could be due to factors like untreated cavities or even an infection that forms in a tooth. An injury could be a factor too. The most common cause of adult tooth loss is actually periodontal disease, or more accurately, the advanced stage known as periodontitis.

You need to seek tooth replacement because the missing teeth could cause misalignment to occur, which changes the appearance of your smile and increases the risk of complications like tooth decay and gum disease. Missing teeth could also limit your meal options and even alter how clearly you speak. You could feel embarrassed in social situations or even avoid them, leading to a poorer quality of life. Your jaw could also weaken as the body stops sending doses of calcium and phosphorus to the areas around the missing roots, leading to an older appearance and additional missing teeth.

Creating a Custom Dental Bridge

If you have a single missing tooth, or if you have two to four in a row, we could offer a dental bridge. The prosthetic contains new teeth, known as pontics, with crowns attached to one or both ends. The new teeth are made from ceramic, a strong material that can be shaded to blend with your smile, and that has the ability to support bite forces and pressures.

To create your lifelike dental prosthetic, we will numb the teeth on each side of the gap, known as abutment teeth. We then remove structure from them and make detailed images and measurements of the abutment teeth and the gap. With this information, we will then design and craft your new prosthetic!

Supporting Your New Teeth

When your ceramic bridge is ready, we will attach the crown portions to the abutment teeth to secure your new teeth in place for years to come, as many as 15 in some cases. However, we could also insert one or two dental implants, so you don’t need to have structures removed from your abutment teeth. We then attach the bridge to these, so you have a complete smile again and your new teeth can last for decades to come, possibly a lifetime.

Schedule a Visit for Dental Prosthetics

A full smile is possible, so reach out to our team today to find out more details. To learn more about addressing the gaps in your smile or to schedule your next visit with us, call Dreem Dentistry in Leawood, KS, today at (913)681-5500.