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What can a Bridge do for Damaged, Broken Smiles in Chiswick?

17-07-2013

Tooth loss can occur at any age, whether due to accident, tooth decay or gum disease. Although there are many different causes of tooth loss the solution to the problem should always be to replace the missing tooth. A missing tooth gap can lead to a whole host of problems for patients in Chiswick and throughout the UK, including:

• Tooth drift: This occurs when the surrounding teeth move into a new alignment, due to the missing area in the mouth. This causes the smile to look skewed and off balanced.
• Gum disease and tooth decay: Because the gums are more exposed bacteria is able to penetrate them faster and more effectively, leading to gum disease and potentially tooth decay. This in turn makes the teeth surrounding the gap more susceptible to further tooth loss, which can then spread from tooth to tooth.
• Difficulties eating and speaking: If a missing tooth gap is left and misalignment and further decay occurs this can affect the bite of your teeth, which will making eating and speaking a great deal more difficult.
• Appearance and self-esteem issues: A damaged smile can also cause much emotional distress, with many tooth loss sufferers covering their mouths when they smile or laugh.

What is a dental bridge and how can it help restore my smile?

A dental bridge uses the surrounding teeth to stabilise a false tooth and hold it in place. A bridge can come in three forms:

1)   Traditional bridge: This uses the teeth on either side of the gap to hold the false tooth in place. Crowns are added to the two teeth, which hold your new tooth in place.

2)   Cantilever bridge: This type of bridge is used when only the teeth on one side of the tooth is healthy and so crowns are only added to the healthy side.

3)   Maryland bridge: This form of bridge is used to replace the front teeth and uses metal bands attached to the surrounding teeth rather than crowns.