Dental Bridges

Woodstock General and Implant Dentistry on May 18, 2017

Restorations to Last a Lifetime

At Woodstock General & Implant Dentistry, we believe our patients have beautiful smiles. We want those smiles to be healthy too. That’s why we offer dental crowns and dental bridges. Dental restorations are not just cosmetic, but important for your oral health and overall well-being.

Dr. Claudia Patch and her team can help you find the solution that will work for you. High quality materials and a treatment plan customized to fit your individual needs will help you plan for a healthier future.

Dental Crowns

Dental Crowns are replacement teeth that experts craft to fit your bite and smile. They fill the gap left after you damage or lose a tooth, and more importantly keep your remaining teeth from shifting out of alignment. Misaligned teeth can cause bite problems and lead to bone loss in your jaw.

Crowns can be attached to an existing root to cover a damaged tooth, or they may be supported by a dental implant when the whole tooth is missing. We may also recommend an implant if the remaining root is not healthy enough to support the crown. Crowns can be made of multiple types of materials, but we recommend Zirconia crowns as they contain no metals. Zirconia crowns are also more resistant to stains and bacteria, meaning that they not only look better but reduce the risk of gum disease.

Dental bridges are a combination of two or more crowns that “bridge” the space between your teeth. This is simpler and more affordable than an implant for each missing tooth. The most common type of dental bridge, a fixed dental bridge, is cemented to adjacent “abutment” teeth so only a dentist can remove it. Fixed dental bridges typically consist of a false tooth fused between two dental crowns. The two crowns are then cemented to the abutment teeth. Although these types of bridges work well as long as the abutment teeth remain healthy, a dental implant supported bridge is a more permanent solution.

An implant supported dental bridge is not reliant on other teeth in your mouth. Instead, dental implants anchor the bridge in place. This strengthens the bridge and reduces stress on your remaining teeth. Implants also make it possible to receive a full-arch dental bridge, which spans an entire set of either your upper or lower teeth. In this way, no remaining teeth are necessary.

Full-arch dental bridges are also fixed permanently in place, only removed by a dentist. They are sturdier and more comfortable than dentures and are easy to care for.

Dental bridges, like dental crowns, can be made from a variety of materials. Our dental laboratory utilizes the latest Computer-Assist-Design/Computer-Assist-Manufacture (CAD CAM) technology to mill full contour bridges from Prettau® Zirconia. Prettau was developed to not only be resistant to chips and fractures, but to also look just like your natural teeth. The material can fuse with custom shades and colors to produce the natural appearance of healthy teeth and gums.