Dental bridges are a great way to help solve the problem of gaps in your mouth left by missing teeth. Many of our patients here at Timothy Elloway DDS, Inc are happy to learn that we offer dental bridges to replace one or more missing teeth depending on the specific needs and the patient’s oral health.

What is a dental bridge?

A bridge is a false tooth that is secured to an adjacent tooth or implant. Bridges fill in gaps where teeth are missing and can do wonders for restoring the look and function of your teeth.

Bridges can be for just one tooth, or multiple teeth. The most important part of making sure your bridge works properly is making sure that the teeth that the bridge is being attached to are strong and healthy. Dr. Elloway can help you make sure that a dental bridge is the best option for you.

There are three main types of dental bridges:

• Traditional Bridge
• Cantilever Bridge
• Maryland Bridge

Traditional Bridge

A traditional bridge is bonded to the teeth on both sides of the replacement tooth using a cap. This can be done to fill the gap of a single tooth, or multiple teeth.

Cantilever Bridge

Cantilever bridges are attached only on one side of the missing tooth. This is usually used if there is not a healthy tooth to attach to on one side of the tooth that needs to be replaced.

Maryland Bridge

A Maryland bridge is attached to the adjacent teeth with either metal or porcelain, but it is done in a way that does not require any of the natural tooth to be removed. This would typically be used for one of the front teeth that is highly visible as it doesn’t require crowns on both sides of the tooth being replaced.

Does Getting a Dental Bridge Hurt?

Getting a dental bridge is a minimally invasive procedure. Unless the tooth that is being replaced needs to be removed, it can be done with very little pain, and even if the tooth does need to be removed, Dr. Elloway is great at keeping patients comfortable in those situations.

A dental bridge is attached to either one or two teeth on either side of the bridge. This means that some of the tooth next to the space being filled will be removed and will have a cap put on to hold the bridge in place. This is bonded to the natural tooth the same way that a crown is bonded when you need a crown.

How To Know if You Are a Good Candidate For a Dental Bridge

Every mouth is unique, which is why we always do a full diagnosis and present to you the best possible solution for your dental bridge. There are several types of bridges to help resolve your unique problem. Whether it is just one missing tooth, several in a row or some other form of missing teeth, we can find the perfect solution for your long term oral health. 

Rest assured that Dr. Elloway takes all of these factors into account when recommending treatment to his patients. He will walk you through which treatment options are best for your situation and why.

Give us a call today to see how we can help you achieve the smile of your dreams.