The Implant Bridge
Have you have lost multiple teeth? If you are wearing a denture, does this chafe and cause discomfort to the gums. The tooth space can be restored with a new better denture or an implant supported bridge. It is no longer considered to be acceptable practice to make a tooth supported bridge larger and larger. Generally a single tooth space is replaced with a bridge which is held on an adjacent tooth. When you have lost two or more teeth in one area of the mouth, this needs to be restored with:
- an acrylic (plastic) denture or
- a chrome denture or
- an implant supported bridge
Plastic dentures are considered to be temporary solutions even though they can last several years. The acrylic is porous and will hold bacteria and the denture retains by flexing into the undercuts of teeth. These dentures used to be called ‘gum strippers’ by dentists as they cause damage to the gums if worn for too long. We therefore generally use them as a temporary tooth replacement.
A chrome denture is carefully constructed to minimise damage to teeth and can be used as a long term solution. Compared with an implant bridge, they will move slightly in function, and need to be removed to give your gums a rest. They are resistant to bacterial penetration. These dentures can be a suitable alternative solution to an implant bridge.
A ‘Single Cantilever’
Implant Bridge
This bridge uses only ONE implant to hold two teeth. This solution is suitable if you have only two missing spaces which are next to each other. The tooth that is directly connected to the implant needs to be the same size or bigger than the ‘suspended ‘ tooth. The single cantilever bridge is not suitable for replacing two large tooth spaces such as two molars adjacent to each other. These really do require two separate implants as shown in the video below, where the missing space is too large for a ‘single cantilever’ bridge:
A single-cantilever bridge is a relatively cost-effective implant tooth replacement option as it only requires the placement of a single implant.
A Fixed-Fixed Implant Bridge
Have you been considering dental implant treatment to restore a whole lost segment of dentition ? Have you been wearing a denture, or suffered the lost of esteem and chewing comfort by not wearing anything at all ? Well, you do not need to suffer in silence. Dental implants are a superb and predictable way to recreate and restore lost segments of dentition, by means of a dental implant bridge.
Dental Implant bridges offer several benefits :
- Improved chewing ability by using fixed teeth
Restoration of your smile and self esteem - No more unsightly and rocking dentures which rub and irritate, and cause lost of taste sensation
- Preserving the mechanical health of the bite which may offer protection against jaw joint deterioration
There are some considerations
when planning a prosthetic
construction…
For larger prosthetic constructions of the jaw, spark erosion technology would be more suitable and this too is provided by Antwerp Implant Dentistry.
As the name suggests, this type of bridge requires a minimum of two implants which are ideally placed at either end of the tooth spaces. This bridge typically replaces 3 or 4 tooth spaces. As a general rule, the implant surgeon will consider placing an implant in every other tooth space at the back of the mouth. Therefore a 4-6 tooth space replacing one quadrant of jaw will generally require a minimum of 3 implants.
The number of implants that you require and the design of your implant bridge will be dependent on the quality of bone and size of your tooth spaces.
Special Circumstances
When replacing front teeth where the forces are lighter, it is possible to replace 4 front teeth using only 2 implants. In some cases 6 front teeth can be replaced with two implants, however such cases need careful assessment by your implant surgeon. All the above scenarios require careful professional assessment by one of our expert implant surgeons.
Our implant Surgeon would be delighted to assess your mouth and advice on a mouth preparation plan and appropriate dental implant treatment plan in consideration of a dental implant bridge. If you would like to find out more about this option, you are welcome to book a free consultation with one of our Treatment Coordinators by filling out the form.
