Bridge

You can replace one tooth or multiple missing teeth with a bridge. A bridge permanently connects two or more existing (natural or implanted) teeth, filling in the area left by a missing tooth or teeth. Two ends of the bridge are anchored to natural or implanted teeth. The materials used for creating a bridge allow a custom shade of porcelain to match your surrounding teeth.
The crowns hold the bridge and the existing (natural or implanted) teeth, on each side of the missing one(s), hold the crown. The teeth on both sides of the missing one(s) must be prepared as crowns, which will serve as abutments to hold the replacement teeth in place.
If you have more than three missing teeth next to each other we can replace them with dental implants which will hold the bridge.

Costs of bridgework include generally two or three crowns which will hold the bridge plus the number of missing teeth what the bridge would replace.

Number of units of you bridge depend on how many missing teeth you have:

• a missing tooth requires three units bridgework (2 crowns + a missing tooth)
• two missing teeth require four or five units bridge (2 or 3 crowns + the 2 missing teeth)
• three missing teeth need a five or six units (2 or 3 crowns + the 3 missing teeth)

Cons of the bridge comparing to dental implant:

• your gum might shrink as you become older
• if you had loose gum, a gap might develop between your bridge and your gum. In this case cleaning would be necessary with inter-dental tooth brush and dental floss daily.
• a bridge might break by chance if you bit strongly something hard (e.g. a hard core or rock in a bread, etc.)

A bridge can be either zirconium oxide or porcelain fused to metal or gold.

Bridge zirconium oxide

You and your friends will be amazed at the results with your zirconium oxide bridge. Next to your natural teeth, it is almost impossible to differentiate which are your natural or zirconium oxide teeth.

Zirconium oxide bridge is excellent choice especially for your front teeth, where the perfect aesthetic and biting resistance, and for your rear teeth, where the grinding resistance are important.

Zircon bridges are slightly transparent as natural teeth. Zircon bridges look the most natural among other solutions, because do not contain metal, slightly transparent and their colour can be set up to perfectly mach your natural teeth.

With zirconium oxide bridge we can replace one missing tooth or two depending on the size of the gap.

Advantages of zirconium oxide bridges are as follows:

• aesthetic, almost impossible to differentiate which are natural and zirconium oxide teeth
• strong and withstand the high forces of biting and grinding
• light weight
• does not contain metal
• slightly transparent as a natural tooth
• biocompatible

Pros for zirconium oxide bridges:

• zirconium oxide bridge looks nicer than porcelain fused to metal because its colour can be set up more precisely to your existing teeth and it is a little bit transparent as natural teeth. It is almost impossible to differentiate which teeth have crown and which is natural.
• it is more convenient because it has lighter weight
• biocompatible and do not contain metal. In the porcelain fused to metal crowns, the metal may decolour the gum because it may accumulate in the tissues of the gum and the metal can spread over the body.

Cons for zirconium oxide bridges:

• the guarantee period can less than porcelain fused to metal. Zirconium oxide has been invented in dentistry in the past decade and the time has not been elapsed to prove longer guarantee.
• more expensive than porcelain fused to metal.

Bridge porcelain fused to metal or gold

For porcelain fused to metal or gold bridge the materials used are a high precious metal or gold interior for strength and a porcelain exterior for cosmetics. The strength of the material creates a bridge that functions like a natural tooth.

As with the crown, once the bridgework is permanently cemented your chewing ability and appearance are like as your natural teeth.

With porcelain fused to metal or gold bridge we can replace one or two missing teeth next to each other.

Pros for metal based bridges:

• have been in use in many decades so there is very long experience with them
• cheaper than zirconium oxide
• it does not brake as zirconium oxide may brake for hard biting but if it cracked and the porcelain peel off and the metal become visible

Cons for metal based bridges:

• it contains metals
  
• the metal may recolor the gum because it can accumulate in the soft tissues of the gum
• it colour is not as natural as zirconium oxide, and experienced eyes can recognize that it is not a natural tooth

Treatment in steps

If you have lost you teeth more than 5 weeks ago:

• you will get local anaesthesia at the region of the treatment
• dentist prepares your existing teeth adjacent to the missing tooth or teeth (these teeth will get crowns in order to hold the bridge).
  
• determines the colour, bite, length and shape of the bridge
• makes impression of your teeth and the mould is sent to the dental laboratory
• you will get a temporary bridge while waiting for the laboratory work
• dental laboratory creates your bridge by the 5th weekday
• dentist removes your temporary bridge
• fits and cements the bridge into the prepared existing teeth on both sides of your missing tooth or teeth

If your tooth/teeth needed to be extracted before bridgework, the time plan would be as follows:

• 1st trip: you should stay a full weekday and 2 nights (e.g. arrive on Sunday and depart on Tuesday). Your tooth/teeth would be extracted and prepared for the bridgeworks and you would get long term aesthetic temporary bridge and crowns.
• 2nd trip: 5 weeks later, you should visit us to get your final bridgework.

Alternatively, you can make your tooth extraction at home and visit us to make the bridgework around 5 weeks later.

If you did not prefer temporary bridge, you could get the final bridge and we would temporary cement it during your 1st trip. You should come back to adjust your bridge to the healed gum and cement the bridge finally during two weekdays around 5 weeks later after your 1st visit.