Phoenix dental bridge
A dental bridge is the conventional way to
replace a missing tooth. Phoenix implant dentist Dr. Arthur Chal will do a dental bridge, if that is the best treatment for
you. Other options include a dental implant and a
removable partial denture.
A removable partial is definitely a less desirable option and is generally
recommended as a temporary tooth replacement only.
In this procedure, the teeth on either side of the
missing tooth are ground down somewhat for dental crowns. A precise
impression is taken of your mouth, and a laboratory fabricates a crown for
each adjoining tooth, with a false tooth suspended between them. See the
diagram below to visualize how this works.
Advantages of a dental bridge:
- It does not require any surgery.
- Almost any dentist can perform the
treatment—it doesn't require any specialized training. Doing
implants requires special expertise on the part of the dentist*.
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A dental
bridge |
Disadvantages:
- If the teeth on either side are healthy, they still have to be
fitted for crowns, which seems a shame. When you have healthy, intact
teeth, placing full dental crowns on them seems like a radical
procedure.
-
Even though it is cemented in your mouth, it still is possible for it to
become loose at some future time.
-
Once the teeth on either side are ground down for crowns, you are
committed to maintaining those teeth for the rest of your life. If there
is later a problem with any of those teeth, you will need a complete new
bridge.
*Dr. Arthur Chal is a fellow of the
International College of Oral Implantology, and is recognized around the
world as an expert in dental implants.
Visit Dr. Chal's main web site to read about Jennifer's Zirconium Bridge Story and to see photographs of his beautiful work. |