Dental bridges, one of the oldest treatment techniques preferred in the treatment of dental disorders, resemble implants in a way. This method used for teeth lost due to tooth fractures, tooth decay, etc. is one of the treatments that is short-term, comfortable and not very difficult for both the patient and the physician. There are also varieties of dental bridges. These varieties change according to the needs of the treatment, the type of procedure and the material used for the bridge tooth. Bridge tooth varieties examined in three main groups are listed below in summaries.
What is Traditional Dental Bridge, How is it Made?
It is a simple bridge tooth application. In this procedure, which is done by attaching to the healthy teeth on the sides of the problematic tooth, support is taken from healthy teeth. Some filing is done on healthy teeth to provide durable retention. The main goal in filing is to adequately fill the gaps between teeth and to perform the fixation stage of the problematic tooth. The most obvious advantage of traditional bridging is that the appearance of the bridge is not noticeable. In summary, it is a very effective type of bridge in terms of aesthetics.
What is Maryland Dental Bridge, How is it Made?
It is also called Maryland dental bridge or adhesive application. Bonding process is done to adjacent teeth. In this application for missing teeth, artificial teeth are used and a bonding process is done towards the back parts of healthy adjacent teeth that are not visible when viewed from the front. Since the back parts of the supported adjacent teeth will be used by bonding method, the back surfaces need to be roughened. Then, adhesives are added to these rough surfaces and fixation is done. The main goal of Maryland dental bridge is to prevent cutting of functional - healthy teeth and to make a bridge. Since it has high disadvantages in terms of both adhesion and fixation, it is not recommended for back teeth where chewing functions are performed. Even if done, it cannot serve for a long time.
What is Cantilever Dental Bridge, How is it Made?
It is also known as free-end dental bridge or balcony dental bridge. It is preferred if there is an area of damaged - partially lost health - functional effect tooth. It is a bridging technique used when patients do not prefer prosthesis and when natural teeth are present. The natural tooth next to the artificial tooth is cut and subjected to filing process. Thus, it is aimed to make room for the cantilever bridge. After these procedures, the artificial tooth is bonded and fixed.
What is Porcelain Bridge Tooth, How is it Made?
It is a type of bridge tooth whose main raw material is porcelain. Porcelain is quite strong and has high capacity in terms of durability. Porcelain bridges are generally preferred for damaged teeth located in the back. The lower part of the porcelain bridge has a metal skeleton that is even stronger. There is porcelain coating on the upper area of the metal skeleton. Both the metal skeleton and porcelain are strongly bonded together by exposing them to intense heat. In this way, it provides efficient durability service during hard chewing actions in the back teeth. Porcelain bridge teeth are not used for only one tooth. They are preferred for the functionality of multiple lost teeth side by side.
What is Zirconium Supported Porcelain Dental Bridge, How is it Made?
It is one of the most frequently preferred bridge tooth types by dentists. Zirconium basically has a quite transparent form and thin structure, but when combined with the tooth, a very durable structure emerges. There are two separate subtypes in zirconium supported dental bridges: semi-transparent and solid focused. For semi-transparent zirconium dental bridge to be performed, the presence of one or two tooth deficiencies is required. However, it is not recommended for longer tooth losses. It is especially recommended for loss situations of teeth located in the front rows, that is, visible from the outside. The most obvious reason for this is that it has a very aesthetic appearance. Solid zirconium dental bridges are a type of bridge preferred in long tooth loss situations and in patients who clench their teeth. Both durability and aesthetic appearance can be revealed together by using aesthetic interventions suitable for the general structure and color tone of the teeth.
What is Temporary Bridge Tooth, How is it Made?
As can be understood from its name, the materials used in these types of bridge models do not offer durability and are only preferred in temporary bridging procedures. These bridges, which can be prepared quickly and simply by dentists, can also be applied easily. However, they are not used much in back tooth or long tooth bridging procedures. Even if preferred, great care is required because they have very fragile structures. They are used in temporary bridge modeling while making dental bridges.
How is Dental Bridge Made?
Explanations about how dental bridges are made according to bridge tooth types are written above. In this section, other important information about how dental bridges are made is listed. In the first step of bridge tooth treatment, the existing tooth amount and damage are examined and the sub-procedures to be applied before treatment are determined. After the examination is completed, procedures such as thinning, cutting, and filing are performed on the tooth/teeth to be treated. A few minutes before these procedures are performed, the teeth are numbed to ensure patient comfort.
After procedures such as cutting, thinning, and filing, main measurements are taken for the bridge tooth. According to the measurement taken by the dentist, a tooth mold is created using paste. Then, the temporary bridge tooth placement procedure is started. The main purpose of placing the temporary bridge tooth is that the tooth has excessive sensitivity after procedures such as filing, thinning, and cutting. With the temporary bridge tooth, this excessive sensitivity is prevented and the tooth's tingling is also prevented. If the temporary bridge tooth is not placed, patient comfort cannot be provided, and tingling occurs during eating and drinking actions.
Mold measurements are sent to the laboratory and prepared within approximately one week. The resulting teeth are applied to the patient by the dentist for bridge trial. If there is a problem during the trial, necessary corrections are made; if not, the application and bonding procedures are directly proceeded with, and the bridge tooth treatment is completed.