Risks of getting a dental bridge

[Ali M]

Hi

I lost a front tooth which my dentist replaced with a denture and he told me at the time that I cant have a dental bridge because its too risky. I have tried to persevere with this denture but its so loose and annoying that I just cant get on with it. I have seen a specialist regarding getting an dental implant but he says that because I smoke 30/day doing an implant will be too risky as well because of problems with infection. However I would like to know what are the risks of getting a dental bridge? surely a dental bridge cant become infected with smoking as well.

[Dr Mohsen J. Esfahani]

A conventional dental bridge involves shaving down the neighbouring teeth which can make them sensitive and those teeth may lose vitality and need root canal treatment. Shaving down teeth is irreversible and those teeth will forever need to be covered with a restorative material and that will need maintenance and care.

A conventional dental bridge splints teeth together and cleaning this is difficult and you will have to use superfloss or tepe brushes daily to clean underneath the bridge. Failure to do so, will result in plaque accumulation beneath the bridge and possible decay and gum problems for the bridge abutment teeth.