INTRODUCTION
Few incidents have a greater impact on your personal appearance than the loss of a tooth.

A missing tooth is a hole in your smile. And smiles are important. They reflect who you are as an individual and remain a key element in expressing your personality.

But more than that, if the "hole" is left unfilled, the surrounding teeth can drift out of position or the opposing teeth can actually grow down into that space. This, in turn, can cause teeth and gums to become more susceptible to tooth decay and gum disease, which might cause further tooth loss.

Plus, teeth that drift into the space left by the missing tooth, interfere with the way your teeth contact and grind during chewing, which could result in sore jaws, excessive wear, headaches, and other problems.

Fortunately, your dentist offers a straightforward way to fill the gap, eliminate these potential problems, and restore your smile.

A bridge.

A bridge is the most natural choice for filling the space in your mouth left by missing teeth. It is, in fact, a false tooth designed to look and feel like a "real" tooth. Called a pontic, this false tooth is fused between two porcelain crowns and fitted into the space left by the missing tooth. At the same time, the two crowns holding it in place are cemented onto the teeth on each side - thereby "bridging" the space between the two teeth. This is a traditional fixed bridge.

There are more conservative types of bridges, which require taking away less of the tooth and are used in areas of less stress such as the front teeth. A "cantilever" bridge is used when there are teeth on only one side of the open space.

Each is skillfully fabricated to defy detection even by those closest to you.

Each reduces the risk of tooth and gum disease, corrects an altered bite and improves your chewing ability and speech.

And each helps safeguard your appearance by preventing the collapse of your facial features that can cause premature wrinkles and age lines.

Contact a dentist to learn if a bridge can help bring a smile to your face.

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