Dental Bridges in North York

Having an empty space in your smile due to a missing tooth is not only aesthetically unfavorable, it can also affect your ability to chew and speak. If untreated, the outcome of a missing tooth can lead to eventual migration of the other teeth, tooth misalignment or malocclusion, gum disease or tooth decay. One option for tooth replacement is a dental bridge. The ideal treatment option if possible would be a dental implant at our North York dental clinic.

How a Dental Bridge Replaces a Missing Tooth

A dental bridge is created by creating anchors from the two teeth on the sides of the empty space. These "abutment" teeth are fitted with dental crowns and a replacement tooth (called a pontic) is attached to the dental crowns. The dental crowns and dental bridge unit is custom fabricated in a laboratory setting to precisely fit the client's own unique dental situation. A dental bridge can be made to replace one or more teeth in a client's smile.

The pontics can be created in a variety of materials, including porcelain, ceramic, metal or a combination of materials, depending on the type and location of the dental bridge.

Types of Dental Bridges

There are three types of dental bridges:

• Traditional: used when the client has a viable tooth on each side of the empty space which is suitable to receive the dental crown
• Cantilever: used when the client has only one tooth near the empty space
• Maryland bonded or resin bonded: plastic or porcelain replacement teeth that are bonded to a metal framework that has metal wings or enforced resin on each side that are cemented to the back of existing teeth