Is It Challenging to Eat with a Dental Bridge?

If you have recently undergone a dental bridge procedure for replacing a missing tooth, you receive instructions from the provider to care for the dental prosthetic as best as possible to preserve its longevity. Dental bridges are suitable replacement solutions for missing teeth that restore your smile, mouth functionality, and aesthetics, besides preventing the consequences of tooth loss.

Correctly based dental bridges in Heath enable you to eat and chew without challenges or causing significant changes. However, you must pay attention to your dental care routine when looking after the dental bridge and helping it last.

How Long Is the Recovery Time for a Dental Bridge?

After getting a dental bridge to restore a missing tooth, you will experience some soreness or changes in your bite. However, it shouldn’t be a cause for concern because that is an adjustment period for the prosthetic. Most people getting dental bridges require about two weeks to adjust fully. During the adjustment, you must avoid extremely hot or cold foods and use toothpaste for sensitive teeth in the initial days to alleviate pain and discomfort.

You may also require time to get accustomed to the artificial tooth in your mouth, which is expected. However, if your bite continues feeling abnormal several days after the procedure, the possibility of improper dental bridge placement exists. Therefore you find it beneficial to have it checked by the dentist near you because an ill-fitting bridge can affect the teeth in the opposing jaw to affect your bite.

When Are Dental Bridges a Better Option Than Dental Implants?

Dental bridges are a better option than dental implants in Heath significantly if you are affected by periodontal disease or immunosuppressive conditions, you smoke, and you are unwilling to go through an intensive procedure to get dental implants embedded in your jawbone via surgery. In addition, dental implants require months of healing before having an artificial tooth mounted on the implant.

When you decide to have dental bridges from the Heath provider, the procedure is completed in two appointments with the dentist spanning three weeks to customize your dental bridge after reshaping the teeth neighboring the edentulous gap. The customized dental bridge is placed on the neighboring teeth with a Pontic between them to function as your artificial tooth. Therefore if you don’t want or cannot undergo the dental implant procedure for the reasons mentioned above, you find dental bridges a better option than implants.

Oral Care Recommendations for Dental Bridges

Tooth decay beneath the crowns holding the dental bridge is the most common problem associated with dental bridges. Food particles can lodge under or beside the dental bridge leading to bacterial buildup and tooth decay. In severe cases, the infection can weaken the abutment teeth to cause the failure of the dental bridge.

A dental bridge has a lifespan of seven to ten years, but you can extend its longevity by caring for it appropriately. To extend the lifespan of the dental bridge, you must follow the oral care techniques suggested in this article. They are:

• Brushing your teeth twice daily with fluoride toothpaste.
• Flossing carefully between your natural teeth and beneath the bridge.
• Rinsing teeth with a fluoride mouthwash regularly.
• Visiting the Heath provider to have your teeth professionally cleaned after every six months.
• Attending regular dental exams to assess the dental bridge’s health.

The oral care tips are essential to maintain the health of the dental bridge and your surrounding teeth. It also helps your gum health while preventing gingivitis or periodontitis.

Dietary Tips for Fixed Dental Bridges

Patients with fixed dental bridges will confront no challenges eating a varied diet without restrictions. However, some care helps reduce damage to the dental bridge.

You must understand that dental bridges will never be as strong or durable as your natural teeth and therefore require different treatment. You must keep the tip in mind to ensure you use the dental bridge sparingly when chewing. In addition, some foods are problematic and better avoided. The foods include nut shells and candy. It helps if you have a diet of fresh fruits and vegetables that help clean your teeth and the dental bridge to provide freedom from dental infections.

Eating with fixed dental bridges is not challenging because they feel and function like your natural teeth. As long as you adopt the preventive measures to safeguard your dental prosthetic, you can rest assured that the dental bridge will serve its purpose without needing you to seek professional treatment or try to fix it because of damage.

If a missing tooth needs replacements, Arc 32 Family Dentistry provides dental bridges or implants to function as replacement teeth. Consult the practice to determine which option best suits your needs to have the replacement tooth you need before the consequences of tooth loss begin affecting you.