Porcelain Bridges

A missing tooth is unsightly, preventing you from having that nice smile no matter how well you care for the rest of your teeth. A missing tooth upsets the balance of forces in your mouth between your other teeth, which can move over time if the problem is not addressed. Missing teeth can also interfere with normal eating and speaking. Fortunately there is a solution, called a ‘bridge’, which gets its name from the fact that it ‘bridges the gap’ where a natural tooth or teeth are missing.

Dental bridges are fixed in place by attaching them to the natural teeth on either side, which are called ‘abutment teeth’. The gap is filled by a fabricated tooth or teeth in between, which are called ‘pontics’. These can be made from a variety of materials, though at the Oakridge Dental Center we recommend using porcelain bridges, as they provide the look and feel of natural teeth. Porcelain bridges are not the same as removable dentures. Replacing missing teeth with porcelain bridges actually helps maintain the health of the rest of your teeth because having a gap causes the forces between teeth in your mouth to become unbalanced, which can cause teeth to shift about. Removable fixtures such as dentures only partially address this problem, as they do not provide the constant balance of forces all the time like porcelain bridges do.

If you have a missing tooth or teeth or rely on a removable fixture, our expert dentist can help. With porcelain bridges from the Oakridge Dental Center, you can have the look, feel, and function of a full set of healthy natural teeth.