Dental Bridge 101 – What is a Dental Bridge?

A dental bridge is a fixed restoration designed to fill the empty space caused by a missing tooth or teeth. Out of many possibilities to replace missing teeth, there are three main alternative ways depending on your medical or aesthetic  requirements and budget:

• implants,
• bridges or
• partial dentures

In this series of articles you will find comprehensible texts covering dental bridges in depth. With this specific reading, we will clarify what qualifies as a dental bridge and why (and when) is it needed. The next article will cover the types of dental bridges.

Dental Bridges = Partial Dentures?

Dental bridges, as a category are also sometimes referred to as a subcategory for (partial) dentures, but in contrast to  removable dentures, it is  fixed in your mouth. There are removable dental bridges as well, though it is rare and only delivered if there is no space in the mouth for such a dental work. In conclusion, every partial denture is a dental bridge, but not every bridge make it as a denture.

Why it is vital to care for your missing tooth or teeth?

Missing teeth change the appearance of our smile and place bigger straining on all of our other teeth. This is true especially for the ones next to the missing tooth as they could slowly move into the space. Therefore they are exposed to more danger as the gap could eventually change the way you bite - ending up causing tooth decay, gum disease or even more teeth loss! It can also alter the way you speak, your self-confidence and the actual shape of your face. In order to have a more healthy mouth and a natural smile, dentists might endorse some dental bridge work done.

What are the parts of a dental bridge?

The teeth are bridged together with the false tooth (pontic)  merged between two crowns acting as anchors to the teeth either side of the false tooth. Pontic is a false tooth used within a dental bridge.  A common dental bridge basically contains:

• A false tooth (pontic) which may be made from alloys, gold, porcelain or a combination of these is used to fill the gap by replacing the missing tooth.
• Two crowns – used to hold the pontic in place by anchoring.

Dental Bridge Cost

With more than one visit, manufacturing methods and exclusive materials, it will come as no shock that dental bridgework can be very expensive. More specifically in the UK, whether your treatment is under the NHS the charges could easily go as high as thousands of pounds. In theory, it should cost you £204 at the top, though you might have seen it already that sometimes dentists just do not want to pay attention to such nuances. Here is a sample table of the prices for a dental bridge (per tooth!). Roughly, the bottom prices vary between £500-£900 depending on the dental practice services.

Dental Bridges Cost per Tooth	UK price
Full Porcelain Bridge (Zirconium)	£800.00
Porcelain Bridge Fused to Metal	£470.00
Porcelain Bridge Fused to Gold	£700.00

Related Articles

> Dental Bridges: The Ultimate Guide (Part 2 - Types)

> What Are Dental Implants - Part 1 - Basics and Procedure

> Tooth Decay or Cavities Essentials - Part 2 - Risks and Causes