Long-lasting and comfortable as a solution for both restorative and cosmetic dental issues, dental bridges bolster your oral health, making your smile more confident, and preventing jawbone loss and other dental issues that can occur due to missing teeth.
What Are Dental Bridges?
A fixed, long-lasting restoration, a dental bridge is designed to replace one or more missing teeth in your mouth. A dental bridge looks and functions just like your natural teeth. Bridges are custom created to fit your mouth by your dentist. They can be permanently attached through the use of implants as an anchor.
A bridge consists of two crowns and a replacement tooth or teeth. The crowns are placed on the teeth that are on either side of the space where a tooth or teeth are missing, with the fabricated tooth or teeth attached between them.
Dental bridges can last for decades without ever needing attention. However, bridges can at times become loose or damaged. If that occurs, decay can reach under the bridge, damaging your surrounding teeth. And sometimes, teeth alignment can change over time, affecting how the bridge fits in your mouth.
If either of these things should occur, a bridge removal may be done.
What Causes Removing or Replacing a Dental Bridge?
There are several things that can occur and cause the removal of a dental bridge. These include:
- Improper or poorly-fitting bridge leading to decay under the bridge
- Damage to neighboring teeth if dental bridges develop rough areas and wear down natural tooth enamel on adjoining, healthy teeth
- Gum disease
- Poor dental hygiene
- Fractures to the pontic or crowns due to eating hard foods that chip or damage the bridge
Simple aging of the bridge itself can cause the need for a replacement bridge, as well.
Looking Deeper at the Causes of Dental Bridge Failure
The main causes of dental bridge failure include:
- Poor dental hygiene that causes decay and destabilization
- Poor abustment support due to changes in the surrounding teeth
- Habits that hurt teeth such as teeth grinding, hard candies, ice chewing, or tearing packaging with the teeth
- Lack of regular dental visits for exams that can catch potential issues before they become dental bridge failure
Once Removed Can a Dental Bridge Be Recemented?
The short answer to that question is that it depends on the circumstance requiring removal. Loose bridges can usually be removed, repaired, and successfully recemented. The same is true of bridges that have simply aged over time. On the other hand, damaged surrounding teeth or teeth that could be damaged by removing a bridge that is not loose may require your dentist to drill off the bridge and then create a new bridge for you.
In short, the cause of the bridge failure, and any damage done to surrounding teeth may determine what route your dentist takes in regard to your dental bridge. The strength of the current bridge bond and the integrity of your supporting teeth, as well as the result that’s desired are all taken into consideration when determining if a bridge can be recemented.
Ready to Learn More?
If you’d like to schedule an appointment, or simply find out more about dental bridges and dental bridge issues, just reach out to us today. We’re ready to help!