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Dental Bridges ( Teeth)
Dental Bridges Cosmetic Dentistry – Information
Dental Bridges Cosmetic Dentistry – Benefits
Dental Bridges Cosmetic Dentistry – Costs
South Africa - Cape Town, Port Elizabeth,Johannesburg, Durban
United Kingdom ( UK ), Harley Street, London
BodyContours Healthcare South Africa
A dental bridge is a fixed prosthesis where a false tooth (pontic) is attached between two porcelain crowns to replace a missing tooth. The two crowns holding it in place are bonded onto the teeth on each side of the false tooth. This is also known as a fixed bridge or fixed partial denture. This procedure is used to replace one or more missing teeth in the upper or lower jaws. Fixed bridges cannot be taken out of your mouth as you might do with removable partial dentures.
BodyContours Healthcare South Africa, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Johannesburg and Durban
Where to go in South Africa
Cosmetic surgeons are available in the four major cities in South Africa, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Johannesburg and Durban. BodyContours Healthcare South Africa is the only company that is an independent facilitator of cosmetic procedures in all the four major cities, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Johannesburg and Durban.
We understand this is your choice, and your journey.
Introduction
A fixed bridge can range from 3 teeth to 8 teeth depending on the number of teeth missing and the quality of the remaining teeth.
Teeth that are lost to decay, trauma or gum disease often leaves patients with aesthetic and functional problems. There are few things as detrimental to a person’s self-confidence as missing teeth. Teeth may slowly shift out of place affecting the relationship between your upper and lower jaws. This can often result in pain of the joint of the lower jaw, the tempero-mandibular joint (TMJ).
Bridges are natural in appearance, and if you maintain good oral hygiene, your fixed bridge should last as many as ten years or more.
It is common for your teeth to be mildly sensitive to extreme temperatures for a few weeks after the treatment. Anchor teeth can decay and gums can become infected if proper oral hygiene is not followed. This can significantly alter the long-term success of bridges.
Fixed bridges can also be used in conjunction with dental implants to replace multiple missing teeth.
BodyContours Healthcare South Africa, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Johannesburg and Durban
Conventional fixed bridges
Advantages
Improves appearance
Easy to clean
Improves your bite
Helps prevent movement of adjacent and opposing teeth
Disadvantages
More tooth reduction than replacement with implants
Additional periodontal surgery required in cases of ridge or gum loss, otherwise aesthetics is compromised
BodyContours Healthcare South Africa, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Johannesburg and Durban
Conventional removable partial dentures
The conventional removable bridge attaches to adjacent teeth with metal clasps. If these clasps show when you smile, the result can be esthetically displeasing. In such cases, the precision-attachment removable bridge described next should be considered.
If you can’t afford the precision-attachment method of hiding clasps, then a removable bridge with a tooth-colored flexible clasp can be made to replace the missing teeth. Keep in mind, however, that this restoration doesn’t offer the support or the stability of the conventional metal-clasp bridge. It may also need to be replaced every few years.
Conventional removable bridges
Advantages
Less expensive than fixed bridges
Helps to balance bite and increases
Chewing efficiency by replacing missing teeth
Prevents movements of adjacent and opposing teeth
Disadvantages
Attachment may create possible wear and stress on supporting teeth
May not be as esthetic as a fixed bridge
BodyContours Healthcare South Africa, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Johannesburg and Durban
Precision-attachment removable partial denture
If you object to the metal clasps found in the conventional removable bridge, you will probably like the precision-attachment restoration. It involves placing a crown on the adjacent tooth or teeth with a place for the attachment in the back so that the clasp becomes invisible. Removable bridges that contain precision attachments are usually made of gold-containing alloys combined with porcelain or plastic teeth.
Although much more costly, precision-attachment removable bridges offer a superior and almost invisible method of restoring the teeth.
Precision-attachment removable bridge
Advantages
Superior retention
Clasps are hidden
Disadvantages
More expensive than clasps
Attachments can break
Attachments can wear
BodyContours Healthcare South Africa, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Johannesburg and Durban