More things to know about Cosmetic Dentistry
(Part 6)
Cosmetic dentists also perform other services such as bonding and bridging.
A cosmetic dentist can also bond an enamel-like dental material to a tooth’s surface similar to a cement material meant to fix cracks. The dentist can also use the substance to sculpt the tooth into the right shape.
The dentist can also use the substance on onlays and inlays in order to repair the tooth which is already decayed or with cracks. The bonding material is used when the crack is too small for a filling. The tooth needs to be repaired first before placing a crown on it.
Another service a cosmetic dentist provides is bridging.
If a patient wants to replace one or more missing teeth without resorting to putting in a dental implant on the empty socket where the tooth or teeth used to be, then having a dental bridge is the answer.
Like crowns, the average bridge lasts nearly a decade or in some cases maybe more.
Dental bridges are like road bridges in that they’re fake teeth suspended over gums while supported by either real teeth or dental implants. They are meant to replace the missing teeth.
A dental bridge is made up of pontics, the teeth or implant prepared for bridge support and cap placement, and abutments.
On the other hand, dental cement is used to bond the bridge which doubles as the denture to the existing teeth to fill in the gaps of the missing tooth or teeth.
Bridges can consist of more than three teeth in total. However, in order to replace a whole row of teeth, you might need more existing teeth to support two bridges.
The ability of any dental bridge is based on the application of Ante’s Law which is used in order to determine where in the mouth the missing teeth should be.
Most bridges are fixed or permanent and this means they can no longer be moved.
The cantilever bridge is a dental bridge that hangs over the empty tooth socket while supported by only one tooth just like a real cantilever bridge.
The cantilever bridge is used in the parts of the mouth where there’s less stress, like the front or anterior teeth.
We will be continuing this discussion on the services provided by a cosmetic dentists in my next column.