An implant-supported bridge is similar to a regular dental bridge, but it is supported by dental implants and not by natural teeth. In most cases, when an implant-supported bridge is used, one implant is placed in the jawbone for each missing tooth. Then the crowns are connected to each other to form one piece.
An implant-supported bridge is used when more than one tooth is missing. It also may be used when your dentist is concerned that you might put too much pressure on individual implants that are not connected to each other. For example, clenching or grinding your teeth can put a lot of pressure on individual implants. This can increase the chances that they will loosen from the bone and fail. An implant-supported bridge reduces the pressure on the individual implants in the bone, and spreads it across the entire bridge.
If the implants will be placed next to natural teeth, the natural teeth and surrounding gums must be in good health. If you don’t have enough bone to place and support the dental implants, the supporting bone can be built up using bone augmentation or grafting before the actual implant procedure begins.
The implant is made of titanium and surgically placed in the jawbone. You may have one implant for each missing tooth. In other cases, your dentist may skip one or more spaces because there’s not enough jawbone, or because the space is too close to a nerve or your sinus cavity.
Before modern times, two surgeries were often needed to place and prepare the implant. Nowadays, periodontal specialists such as Dr. Gallardo can perform the entire procedure with just one operation in most cases.
If you are interested in learning more about implant-supported bridges, contact Miami Perio today at 305.447.1447.
