Dental Bridges

Dentists replace missing or lost teeth with bridgework, implants, and / or partial dentures that can be undetectable to the eye. Choosing the best tooth replacement technique depends upon several factors, including the condition of the teeth adjacent to the space, the shape and the amount of shrinkage of the boney ridge after the extraction of the original tooth, the gum tissue thickness and continuity of symmetry with the other gum scallops, the esthetic display of the smile, the health of the gums, and budget considerations.

Dr. Fondriest works with his favorite surgical and or orthodontic specialists if necessary to make the false tooth in the future bridgework to appear as though it was never lost achieving amazing results. 

After treatment photos below

TYPES OF DENTAL BRIDGES

There are two mainstream types of fixed (meaning non-removeable) dental bridges:

1)  All-Porcelain Bridge

When dental implants cannot be employed to replace a missing or extracted tooth, then a fixed or permanently cemented dental bridge is the next best solution.  These non-removeable tooth replacements can be constructed out of many materials.  It is easier to achieve a high level of esthetics when the restorations are entirely constructed of porcelain.  The design and overall strength of these restorations is evolving quickly. At this time, the most common porcelain varieties (e.g. Zirconium, Procera, E Max) used as substructures or frameworks still have lower flexural strength relative to metallic versions but their popularity is growning rapidly. The restorative dentist and patient must weigh the risk of occlusal forces and abuse against the ease of creating an esthetic result.

2)  Porcelain supported by a metal substructure (PFM) Bridge

When the supporting substructure is placed under unusually heavy loads, the veneering porcelain can chip or fracture off.  If the patient is hard on their dentition with clenching or grinding, it is advisable to support the superficial veneering layer of ceramic with some sort of metal substructure . Metallic substructures are added when maximum strength is needed (Dr. Fondriest always chooses a very biocompatable precious alloy made primarily of gold). Most of todays PFM versions totally enclose the metal within the ceramic and is not exposed to the mouth except at the margins.  Optionally, your dentist can order butt-joint margins which cover the metal edges of your bridge with porcelain to prevent the dreaded "black line at gum".  See a before and after example.

Photographic examples of all-porcelain and porcelain on gold bridges below.