Dental Bridge

[Aurora]

Hi

Around 18 months ago, I lost two of my top front teeth after a motorbike accident. I am currently wearing a plate that I put in during the day and remove at night. The problem is that the plate is loose and I would like a more fixed solution.

I have looked at dental bridges and implants but dental implants seem a little outside my budget. There seems to be many different types of dental bridges and I am not sure which one would be right for me. Can you explain the difference between different types of dental bridges and the pros and cons of each type.

Can having dental bridges damage my existing teeth? How long do dental bridges last on average and could you please give me a rough price guide for each type of dental bridge.

[Dr Mohsen J. Esfahani]

Thank you for your post.

There are several different types of dental bridges. Broadly speaking we have:

1. Conventional bridges. This type of bridge involves shaving down the neighbouring teeth next to your missing teeth and using the neighbouring teeth as abutments to hold the false teeth (pontics) of the bridge.

This type of bridge used to be very popular 20 years ago but now is not so popular because it needs the neighbouring teeth to be significantly shaved down. When perfectly healthy teeth are shaved down, they can develop problems such as nerve damage.

Also conventional type of bridge is not very easy for the patient to clean, so the risk of decay developing around the neighbouring teeth holding the bridge is increased and this can lead to bridge failure. On average this type of bridge lasts 10-15 years.


2. Adhesive bridges. This type of bridge involves either no shaving down or very little shaving down of the neighbouring teeth on the inside of those teeth.

A wing is then bonded to the neighbouring teeth and to that wing a false tooth (pontic) is attached. On the positive side, this type of bridge is less damaging to the neighbouring teeth and easier to clean but on the negative side, it is short on retention and can debond easily.

Some dentist's look at this type of bridge more as a short-medium term temporary restoration rather than a long term solution. On average this type of bridge probably lasts around 5 years.


Dental Bridges cost around £195-£400 per unit depending on material used, design and laboratory costs. So a three unit conventional bridge replacing one missing tooth costs around £1200.


These days, dental implants have superseded dental bridges in many ways as they are not damaging to their neighbouring teeth, easier to clean than bridges and longer lasting. In fact, implants are probably cheaper than bridges in the long term. Realising this fact, more and more patients are now opting for implants rather than dental bridges. Looking at things objectively, I guess dental bridges still have their uses in cases where the patients either dont wish to have implant surgery or cant have implant surgery for whatever reason.


I dont know if you have gathered from the tone of my answer that I am not the worlds biggest fan of dental bridges. Lol.