Porcelain Bridges
What is a Bridge?
A bridge (also known as a fixed partial denture) is one way to replace a missing tooth by connecting the replacement tooth to the adjacent teeth. It will be done in 2-3 appointments.Making a bridge first involves preparing the teeth adjacent to the missing space (essentially each adjacent tooth is prepared for a crown). This involves removing some tooth structure all around the tooth and over the top to make room for the bridge.
A mold of the prepared teeth is taken and sent to the laboratory where the bridge will be made. The day the teeth are prepared, a temporary bridge is made and placed. Once the bridge returns from the lab (around 2 weeks) we remove the temporary bridge and cement the final bridge in place.
Types of Bridges
Porcelain fused to metal (PFM) is a tooth-colored bridge with high strength. Tooth colored porcelain is baked on the outside of the metal core. We only use the highest quality porcelains (a combination of beauty, biocompatibility, and strength).An all-ceramic bridge (or porcelain with ceramic substrate) is the most beautiful of all bridges due to no metal translucency. These bridges are usually indicated on front teeth or teeth that are highly visible. We use only the best materials (a combination of beauty, biocompatibility, and strength) for our all-ceramic bridges.
A full gold bridge is composed of gold and looks gold. Full gold bridges are indicated on back teeth with low visibility and are performed rather than a PFM at patient's request.