Implant
Bridge

A missing tooth is a serious matter. Teeth are made to work together. When you lose a tooth, the nearby teeth may tilt or drift into the empty space. The teeth in the opposite jaw may also shift up or down toward the space. This can affect your bite and place more stress on your teeth and jaw joints, possibly causing pain.

Teeth that have tipped or drifted are also harder to clean. This puts them at a higher risk for tooth decay and gum disease.

When a tooth is missing the bones begin to shrink and change the shape of your face. If that happens, it may change the way the jawbone supports the lips and cheeks. Over time, this can make your face look older. All of this can be prevented if the tooth is replaced quickly.

You might need a dental bridge if you have a missing tooth or teeth and have healthy teeth on either side of the gap left by the missing teeth.

If you have one missing tooth, your bridgework will require three crowns. Two of those crowns will cover abutment teeth on either side of the gap left by the missing tooth. These two crowned abutment teeth will then become supports for a third crown placed in between them, filling in the empty space. This arrangement is known as a three-unit bridge.

If more than one tooth is missing, more crowns will be needed to bridge the gap in between the abutment teeth; in fact, more abutment teeth may also be needed. There are several variables to take into account in this calculation: the number of missing teeth, the size and length of the abutment tooth roots, the amount of bone support each abutment tooth has, as well as where in the mouth the teeth were lost.

For example, if you have three missing teeth, four abutment teeth may be necessary, thereby creating a seven-tooth bridge. Engineering and designing the bridge requires an understanding not only of how to replace teeth, but also of the biology of tooth-supporting gum and bone tissue.

A dental bridge consists of two components:

Anchor crowns

The anchor crowns (also known as retainer crowns) are two (or more) dental crowns that are cemented on the teeth adjacent to the toothless gap to support the bridgework restoration.

The two anchoring teeth are called abutment teeth. A traditional bridge is supported by natural teeth (or by post and cores when remaining tooth structure is inadequate).

Pontics or artificial teeth

The artificial (or false) teeth are placed between the anchor crowns and basically replace the missing tooth or teeth. Depending on the clinical situation and the number of missing teeth, a dental bridge can have one or more pontics.

A dental restoration made off several dental crowns joined together but without any pontics (because there are no missing teeth) is also considered as a dental bridge.