Losing tooth
Losing a tooth can be a traumatic experience, regardless of the circumstances behind it. Likewise, the loss can be damaging to your long-term oral health, regardless of the reasons that are behind the extraction. That is why it is so important to take some time and evaluate your restoration options! Restoration is an important part of maintaining a healthy and natural looking smile even after tooth extraction. At Kelly Smile Dentistry, we are proud to offer our patients a wide variety of smile restoration options. One of the most popular is a dental bridge, and we think that it can help keep your smile just as bright as it was before the loss of your tooth.

What Dental Bridges Are

When it comes to dental procedures, few are as common and abundant as the dental bridge. Used to help maintain the function of your bite as well as to keep your smile looking natural, a dental bridge consists of a few different parts. The first part involves two crowns—one for each of the teeth directly beside the missing tooth. These teeth have to have crowns placed to help reinforce them for the actual bridge itself, which will be affixed to the crowned teeth. The replacement tooth itself is held in place by the bridge and works to help maintain your quality of life as well as the structure of your mouth.
Bridges

Why Bridges?

A mouth with a missing tooth can quickly change shape as the remaining teeth shift in response to suddenly having more room than before. Every tooth in your mouth serves a purpose, and together they hold each other in place. When one of them goes missing, then, the rest of the teeth tend to drift from their current locations. This can change your smile as well as your bite, and can even lead to tissue and bone loss that will only further degenerate the function of your existing teeth and jaw.

A bridge can be placed to help keep your teeth exactly where they need to be. Additionally, failing to replace a tooth means that your bite is no longer properly supported thanks to a missing link. In response, the rest of your teeth will have to pick up the slack. This additional pressure and stress can lead to increased wear and tear, which might even result in more dental work that needs to be done.

Do Dental Bridges Hurt?

As with so many dental procedures, many patients want to know just how painful a bridge will be. The answer is that the bridge is not painful at all! You might experience some slight discomfort when the two crowns are placed, but there is very little invasive work being done. That means that your teeth stay healthy and avoid too much jostling. The replacement tooth itself just slides in between the two crowns and is held in place—it is not implanted in your jaw like some other procedures.

For more information regarding dental bridges, or to learn more about alternative options like dental implants, please give Kelly Smile Dentistry a call today at  760-242-2338