About Fixed bridge
When you lose a tooth, it is important to replace it as soon as possible with a false tooth (or artificial tooth). This will avoid the displacement of the surrounding teeth and fix the hole in your smile. The traditional solution to this problem is a dental bridge that is permanently attached to neighboring healthy teeth.
Procedure for a traditional fixed bridge
- The dentist files the 2 teeth adjacent to the missing tooth. These will become the pillars of the bridge.
- The replacement tooth and the two pillar crowns are custom-made in the laboratory as one piece.
- The dentist cements the bridge permanently on the 2 pillars.
A traditional bridge should last about 10 years if you take good care of it. Your dentist will show you how to use a floss threader to pass the floss around the artificial tooth in the center of the bridge.
Implant-supported crown – an alternative after losing a single tooth
If you have lost a single tooth, an implant-supported crown is often a better long-term solution than a fixed traditionnal bridge. This solution is a little more expensive initially but usually has a longer life than the traditional bridge. This solution also avoids damaging the two healthy teeth that are used as bridge pillars.
implant-supported bridge
If you have lost more than one tooth, an alternative to the traditional bridge is an implant-supported bridge. This solution uses implants as pillars, rather than using the healthy teeth adjacent to the lost teeth.