How Long to Wait after Tooth Extraction for a Dental Bridge?

October 1, 2022

Dental bridges help close gaps in your smile after tooth loss, including extractions. Bridges require two or more crowns placed on the adjacent teeth beside the missing tooth gap.

The fake tooth you need gets support from the dental crowns placed over your adjacent natural teeth to help bridge the gap between them.

When you have a missing tooth or teeth in the aesthetic zone, it affects your smile besides your ability to bite foods and speak appropriately.

You also become a victim of misalignments because your remaining teeth begin drifting towards the vacant space left by the missing tooth. In addition, jawbone deterioration impacts your facial appearance.

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Is a Bridge Necessary after Tooth Extraction?

Dental bridges become necessary if you experience tooth loss from injuries, gum disease, or extractions.

The artificial restorations help prevent all the problems described above by providing you with natural-looking and functioning artificial teeth.

Dental bridges are unlike dentures that make you confront challenges like slipping and shifting when eating or speaking.

In addition, bridges remain fixed in your mouth and don’t require removal every night for cleaning and resting your gums.

Therefore whatever reason causes you to miss teeth, including extractions, you need artificial tooth replacement solutions such as bridges to replace them.

Disadvantages of Dental Bridges

Dental bridges have disadvantages because when receiving them, the adjacent teeth beside the missing tooth must undergo tooth structure removal to accommodate dental crowns over them.

Therefore if you consider dental bridges, the teeth next to the tooth needing removal from the dentist in Encinitas must be healthy and without infections to undergo the tooth structure removal process.

The tooth structure removal is uncomfortable and requires you to endure local anesthesia and temporary acrylic teeth over them to prevent damage until the dental laboratory customizes your dental bridge and crowns.

After getting your dental bridges placed, you must remain cautious with your dental hygiene routine, ensuring you never allow dental plaque to accumulate beneath the dental bridge or the crowns over the neighboring teeth.

Accumulation of dental plaque makes you a victim of gum disease, making you prone to receiving frequent treatments from dentists to manage the condition.

Therefore it helps if you know the disadvantages of dental bridges before you get them as replacement solutions for your extracted tooth.

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Waiting Time After Extractions to Get Dental Bridges

After undergoing dental extractions in Encinitas, you experience swelling in your gums, and the dentist recommends you wait until your gums heal before they provide dental bridges.

Complete healing of your gums requires approximately eight to 12 weeks. After you have recovered from the extraction, you must schedule two appointments with the dentist to get your new dental bridge.

The first visit to the dentist involves enamel removal from the neighboring teeth beside the tooth gap to accommodate a customized dental crown to fit over them.

As mentioned earlier, the procedure causes discomfort, but the dentist gives you local anesthesia in the mouth to ease the pain. After reshaping your teeth, the dentist impressions them for the dental laboratory to customize your dental crowns and Pontic to function as your fake tooth.

Finally, temporary acrylic bridges are placed over the prepared teeth to protect them and the gums.

You must endure the temporary bridges for about three weeks before scheduling another appointment with the dentist to receive your permanent bridge placement.

During your second visit, the dentist starts with temporary bridge removal before placing and adjusting the new bridge. You might require another visit to the dentist to ensure your best fits comfortably and doesn’t impede your bite.

After getting your permanent bridge to replace your extracted tooth, kindly do not assume it is a permanent fixture. Dental bridges require replacement every five to 15 years, depending on how well you care for them.

Therefore you must exercise caution to ensure tooth decay beneath the bridge and ensure tooth decay doesn’t occur by maintaining excellent dental hygiene, brushing and flossing your teeth, and visiting the dentist every six months for dental prophylaxis.

On the other hand, if you care for your dental bridge appropriately, you can enjoy the functionality of your artificial teeth for their entire lifespan or even extend their longevity.

Sinclair Smiles provides dental bridges in Encinitas for extracted teeth or tooth loss from various dental problems.

If you need a tooth or teeth removed, kindly do not hesitate to visit this dental practice for the replacements you need.

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