Dental Bridges

Phoenix, Scottsdale, and Payson, Arizona

A missing tooth can be visible in your smile or when you laugh and give an aging or unhealthy impression. It can also adversely affect your dental health. At Winterholler Dentistry we offer several top-quality ways to replace missing teeth. We enjoy seeing our patients regain their confidence and begin smiling more.

The more delay there is in replacing missing teeth the harder it can be to replace them. That is because remaining teeth shift to fill the gap which creates a misaligned bite and a host of neuromuscular dentistry problems. It also at some point causes bone loss which makes it very difficult to replace a tooth. By replacing your lost teeth you serve yourself well, as it will:

• Correct your bite, thus improving your dental health
• Improve your chewing ability
• Improve speech
• Give support to the surrounding teeth

A Permanent Bridge

If you have a dental bridge to fill those gaps you will have a natural-looking, effective tooth replacement. The most commonly done bridge consists of an artificial tooth supported by its two neighboring teeth. Those two anchor teeth are given crowns to attach the new tooth (called a pontic), and this allows for normal biting and chewing pressure.

The Bridge Procedure

1. You will have an anesthetic to numb the area.
2. The two anchor teeth are given crowns.
3. Dr. Winterholler will take an impression of this area for the dental crowns to be made correctly.
4. Dr. Winterholler will attach the new tooth, which is custom-created to match your natural teeth. It will be firmly attached to the two neighboring crowns.

Alternatives to a Dental Bridge

• Dental implants are artificial tooth roots. They fill the second of the two gaps left by a missing tooth – the gap left by the lost tooth root. This alternative has some strong advantages:
• It prevents the jawbone tissue from shrinking to fill the root gap
• No healthy teeth need to be shaved down for crowns
• No teeth will be burdened with supporting an artificial tooth, taking the stress that normally the missing tooth’s root would have taken
• Partial dentures can be done instead of a bridge.

Dr. Chris Winterholler has a great deal of experience placing dental implants, and enormous success in the outcomes. Winterholler Dentistry is a metal-free office and your bridge will be metal-free to give you the most natural smile enhancement. You can see in our Smile Gallery how good our previous bridge patients look.

Dental bridges and their alternatives offer different advantages and disadvantages and also different costs. Please see our Financing page for more information on easy payment plans. Drs. Chris and Patrice Winterholler will be glad to work with you to determine which method will be best for your particular tooth replacement. When you have good understanding of the alternatives the decision becomes easy.

Our office has CEREC technology to mill your crowns on site. That saves you having to come back for a second visit after an outside dental laboratory has made your crowns. Missing tooth replacement is often done as part of a full mouth restoration for those who have multiple dental issues to resolve. If you experience anxiety about visiting a dentist, please know that we understand that and we offer sedation dentistry to help you stay calm and confident.

To learn more about dental bridges and how best to improve your dental health, please contact our cosmetic dentistry office for a free consultation. Winterholler Dentistry serves Phoenix, Scottsdale and Payson, Arizona and we look forward to working with you.