Missing teeth can significantly impact your ability to eat, speak clearly, and smile with confidence. When gaps appear in your smile, the surrounding teeth may shift into those empty spaces, potentially creating bite problems and additional oral health challenges down the road.
At Charlotte Dental Arts, we offer comprehensive restorative solutions including same-day crowns and bridges to replace missing teeth and restore the function and beauty of your smile. Our dental team provides traditional and modern bridge options to help you achieve the complete, healthy smile you deserve.
What Are Dental Bridges and How Do They Work?
A dental bridge literally “bridges” the gap created by one or more missing teeth. This fixed prosthetic device consists of two main components: crowns (called abutments) and the replacement teeth (called pontics). The crowns attach to the healthy teeth adjacent to the gap, while the pontics fill the space.
Traditional bridges require reshaping the teeth on either side of the gap to accommodate the crowns. Once our team prepares these abutment teeth, we take impressions to create a custom bridge that fits your mouth perfectly. The final restoration is permanently bonded to your prepared teeth, creating a stable and long-lasting solution.
Why Choose Dental Bridges for Missing Teeth?
Dental bridges offer numerous advantages for patients with missing teeth. They restore your ability to chew correctly, allowing you to enjoy a wider variety of foods again. Bridges also help maintain proper speech patterns by filling gaps where your tongue might otherwise protrude.
Beyond functional benefits, bridges prevent remaining teeth from shifting into empty spaces. This movement can create misalignment issues, bite problems, and difficulty cleaning between teeth. A bridge maintains your facial structure by providing support where teeth once were.
How Long Do Dental Bridges Last?
With proper care, dental bridges typically last 10 to 15 years or longer. The lifespan depends on several factors, including your oral hygiene habits, diet, and whether you grind your teeth at night. Regular dental checkups and cleanings help maximize the longevity of your bridge.
Our team provides specific care instructions to help you maintain your bridge properly. Daily brushing and flossing remain essential; however, you may need special flossing tools to clean effectively around the bridge.
What to Expect During the Bridge Placement Process
The bridge placement process typically requires two to three appointments. During your first visit, we prepare the abutment teeth by removing a small amount of enamel to make room for the crowns. We then take detailed impressions of your teeth and bite to ensure an accurate fit.
A temporary bridge protects your prepared teeth while our dental laboratory crafts your permanent restoration. This process usually takes about two weeks. When your custom bridge is ready, we remove the temporary bridge and check the fit and color of your new restoration.
Same-Day Crowns and Bridges Technology
Charlotte Dental Arts offers same-day crowns and bridges using advanced CEREC technology. This innovative system allows us to design, mill, and place your bridge in a single appointment, eliminating the need for temporary restorations and multiple visits.
The same-day process begins with digital impressions using an intraoral scanner. Our computer-aided design software then creates your custom bridge, which we mill from high-quality ceramic material in our office. This technology provides a precise fit and natural-looking results in just a few hours.
Caring for Your New Dental Bridge
Maintaining excellent oral hygiene becomes even more critical once you have a dental bridge. Regular brushing twice daily helps prevent plaque buildup around the restoration. Pay special attention to the areas where the bridge meets your gums and natural teeth.
Flossing requires a special technique around a bridge. We recommend using floss threaders or water flossers to clean effectively beneath the pontics. Avoid sticky or hard foods initially while you adjust to your new bridge.
Professional Maintenance and Follow-Up Care
Regular dental visits through our comprehensive family dentistry services remain crucial for maintaining the longevity of bridges. We monitor the health of your abutment teeth and the condition of your bridge during routine examinations. Professional cleanings remove plaque and tartar that home care might miss, particularly around the bridge margins.
Alternatives to Traditional Bridges
While bridges effectively replace missing teeth, they’re not the only option available. Dental implants provide another excellent solution for single or multiple missing teeth. Implants preserve adjacent healthy teeth because they don’t require crowns on neighboring teeth.
Full or partial dentures may be suitable for patients who are missing many teeth. We evaluate each case individually to recommend the most appropriate treatment option, taking into account your oral health, lifestyle, and preferences.
Factors That Influence Treatment Choice
Several factors help determine whether bridges are right for you. The health and strength of adjacent teeth play a crucial role in the success of a bridge. Your age, oral hygiene habits, and budget also influence treatment planning decisions.
We discuss all available options during your consultation, explaining the benefits and considerations of each approach. This information helps you make an informed decision about your dental care.
Schedule Your Dental Bridge Consultation at Charlotte Dental Arts
Dental bridges provide a reliable solution for replacing missing teeth while restoring your ability to chew, speak, and smile with confidence. Our advanced CEREC technology enables us to create precise, natural-looking bridges in fewer visits, preventing surrounding teeth from shifting and maintaining your facial structure for years to come.
Dr. Edwin Porter brings over 25 years of restorative experience and has completed more than 6,000 CEREC same-day restoration cases at our Charlotte practice. As a Fellow in the Academy of General Dentistry and Charlotte Magazine’s “Top Dentist” for over 20 years, Dr. Porter delivers exceptional bridge restorations using cutting-edge digital dentistry. We work with out-of-network patients and offer flexible financing through CareCredit and Cherry to make your treatment affordable. Contact us today at (704) 560-4855 or through our contact form to schedule your bridge consultation and restore your complete smile.
Schedule Your Bridge Consultation
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