Have you recently lost a tooth? Tooth loss affects more than just the appearance of your smile. It can also affect your oral health and quality of life. For example, losing a tooth can make it difficult to eat your favorite foods or talk with confidence.
Continue reading to learn how you can benefit from replacing a missing tooth with a dental bridge. For more information, we recommend contacting a Grandville dentist near you.
How Does a Dental Bridge Work?
Like the name suggests, a dental bridge “bridges” the gap left in your smile after losing a tooth. The dental restoration consists of a false tooth that is anchored on both sides by natural teeth or dental implants capped with porcelain crowns.
Dental bridges effectively:
- Restore your smile
- Improve chewing and speaking
- Maintain your face’s natural shape
- Even out your bite
- Prevent teeth from shifting positions
Many of our patients appreciate that look and feel natural. If you have any questions about the , we recommend contacting a dentist experienced in restorative dentistry.
1. Fix Your Smile and Protect Oral Health
A dental bridge for front teeth can significantly improve the appearance of your smile. A front teeth bridge not only gives you confidence, but can help you avoid further tooth loss or even facial collapse. The sooner you ask your dentist about getting a smile makeover, the better chance you’ll have of being able to maintain good oral health.
2. Eat Your Favorite Foods
After losing a tooth, you may experience pain while chewing. Dental plaque and food particles can also collect in the empty tooth socket and increase your risk for gingivitis or periodontal disease.
A dental bridge is a tooth replacement that lets you keep eating your favorite foods. After getting a dental bridge, you’ll be able to eat without pain and have an easier time maintaining a balanced diet.
3. Speak Clearly and With Confidence
It’s not uncommon for people with missing teeth to speak with a lisp or have difficulty pronouncing certain words. Your teeth play a vital role in how you form words in your mouth. To see what we mean, try reading aloud to see how many times your lips or tongue come in contact with your teeth.
Dental bridges not only improve the appearance of your smile, but make it easier for you to speak clearly and with confidence.
4. Maintain Healthy Jawbone Tissue
Your jawbone tissue needs stimulation from tooth roots to stay healthy. After tooth extraction, the jawbone starts to deteriorate to the extent that you could risk further tooth loss or even facial collapse. A dental bridge helps keep jawbone tissue healthy so you can maintain good oral health and keep the shape of your face.
5. Prevent Further Tooth Loss
It’s important to understand that your teeth are held in place by roots and surrounding teeth. This means that when you lose a tooth, nearby teeth start to tilt toward the open space or even become loose. To prevent further tooth loss, we recommend asking your dentist about getting a dental bridge. A dental bridge fills the empty tooth socket so nearby teeth are held in place.
Ready to Make an Appointment?
Our family dentists at Sarah Palmer DDS are dedicated to helping patients fix their smiles after tooth loss with restorative dentistry services. If you are interested in scheduling an appointment with ourGrandville family dentists, call our office at (443) 759-0910.
This blog has been updated.