What are Implant Supported Bridges Made Of?
Implant supported bridges are a great choice for patients with healthy jawbones that need to replace two or more consecutive missing teeth. The implants replace the missing tooth roots and promote bone health by stimulating the area when biting and chewing. The implant bridge can be manufactured to aesthetically mimic natural teeth and will have a function that is equivalent to natural teeth.
A traditional dental bridge consists of a set of prosthetic teeth supported by crowns over either side of a gap of missing teeth. The teeth on either side have to be specially prepared so that the crowns which support the bridge will fit properly. This process involved filing down and shaping the healthy teeth on either side of the gap of missing teeth. An implant supported bridge removes the necessity of damaging healthy teeth by placing implants which replace the root of the missing teeth. The implant bridge then only requires enough material to cover the gap and not the extra two teeth on either side of the gap.
An implant supported bridge consists of a few components: the implants themselves, abutments, and the prosthetic that will be visible at the end of the procedure.
A dental implant is a small titanium rod or post placed directly into the jawbone. After small incisions are made into the soft gum tissue, holes are drilled directly into the bone. Titanium posts are inserted into these holes and healing caps are placed over them to prevent damage or infection while the sites heal and the metal fuses to the bone. This is called osseointegration and can take up to six month for a patient to fully recuperate.
After the site has completely healed, the abutments can be attached to the top of the titanium posts by dental screws. Abutments are the parts that connect the implants to the prosthetic restoration. They are typically made of titanium, gold, or porcelain.
The prosthetic is the part that is visible on top of the implant and abutment and will have the appearance of natural teeth. It is screwed or cemented onto the abutment. The screw hole is then covered with composite filling material. The restoration is usually made of tooth colored ceramic, porcelain, porcelain fused to metal, or composite resin. It will often be custom manufactured off-site in a dental laboratory to your exact specifications.
The different materials each come with their own benefits and shortfalls. For example, porcelain is a natural looking substance with a hardness that rivals natural teeth but is brittle and can fracture or crack if too much force is used while biting. Composite resin is often more affordable but can stain or become discolored over time. What material you choose will depend on a number of factors and your dentist will help you to decide what is right for you.