Your Guide To Adjusting To A Dental Bridge

Are you planning to get a dental bridge? If so, you may be wondering how long it takes to get used to a bridge once it’s been placed in your mouth.

Let’s start by taking a look at what a dental bridge is for the purposes it serves.

What is a Dental Bridge?

Serving as a fixed, long-lasting restoration, a dental bridge replaces one or more missing teeth in your mouth. It’s custom created by your dental team to fit comfortably but firmly in your mouth to look and function just like your natural teeth. Some can be permanently attached through the use of one or more implants serving as an anchor.

Basically, a bridge consists of two crowns and a replacement tooth or teeth. The crowns are typically placed on the teeth that are on either side of the space where a tooth or teeth are missing, with the fabricated tooth or teeth attached between them.

Dental Bridges Can Be Supported by Implants

Rather than relying on your own teeth, placing a dental bridge in your mouth using dental implants is the most secure and permanent way to place the bridge. This provides a natural look and feel. And, the stability of implants used to support bridges make for a very effective solution when replacing multiple missing teeth. If your natural teeth are used rather than an implant, they will be subjected to increased stress that can be damaging if the existing tooth, roots, or surrounding bone structure are compromised already.

An implant supported bridge is a dental bridge secured to two or more dental implants instead of relying on your adjacent natural teeth for support. When a bridge uses your own natural teeth for attachment, the teeth are prepared or shaved down to place the crowns necessary to place the bridge. This is not the best way to support a bridge compared to using implants, as this can weaken them or be potentially damaging in other ways, particularly if a gap in teeth has already weakened the teeth or jaw bone around them.

Dental Bridges Are Long Lasting 

With good oral hygiene and regular dental cleanings from your dental team, dental bridges can last for more than 10 years. Certain kinds of bridges, such as implant supported bridges, will last even longer than that. Implant supported bridges can in fact last a lifetime. But, it’s important not to bite on your nails or use your teeth as tools to open things when you are wearing a bridge, just as it is important not to do so with your own teeth, as this can risk chips or cracks.

Adjusting to a Dental Bridge

After getting a dental bridge, you may find that you’re experiencing a bit of soreness or have changes in how your bite feels after the bridge is placed. However, this is just the adjustment period, and it will pass. While it depends on the patient, it usually takes no more than two weeks to adjust fully to a dental bridge. During that time period, it’s best to avoid very hot or very cold foods which can cause some discomfort. You may also want to consider using a toothpaste for sensitive teeth during this time to help with any discomfort.

Madison Dental Arts provides comprehensive dental services in New York, NY. They offer a wide range of services and procedures, including dental bridges, dental implants, and Invisalign.