Types of Bridges

Chicago’s Downtown Dental offices are home to many dentists who are experienced providers of tooth restorations. One of the oldest and most reliable forms of restoration is the dental bridge, but there have been several improvements in it recently that present patients with more options.

A bridge is a series of artificial crowns that can be used to restore multiple teeth. The type of bridge most familiar to patients is one with a pontic crown suspended between two crowns that were cemented over reshaped natural teeth. This type of restoration allowed patients to retain the natural roots of the reshaped teeth, but it was developed at a time when dentists assumed all teeth would eventually need to be replaced. Modern dentists are more reluctant to reshape or extract natural teeth when they are healthy, making this kind of bridge less desirable for people without widespread decay.

In recent times, dentists have developed removable partial dentures with gaps to fit around healthy teeth. Removable bridges are easy to keep clean, but they need to be reshaped if the natural tooth shifts position, and they may still require nearby teeth to be slightly reshaped so the denture can clasp onto them. If the patient has sufficient jaw tissue, it is also possible for us to use implants to directly secure a dental bridge or partial denture to the patient’s jaw bone.

Downtown Dental LLC operates its Loop office at 25 E Washington St, Suite 1921, Chicago, Illinois, 60602. Call 312-782-8862. The River North office is at 676 N Michigan Ave, Suite #3500, Chicago, IL, 60611. Call 312-274-3333. Visit Downtown Dental online.

 

Types of Teeth

The Downtown Dental offices in Chicago want our patients to feel included and confident in their oral health decisions. Different types of teeth serve distinct functions and encounter specific problems, so patients should be aware of the terms dentists use to describe them.

Typically, children grow twenty teeth and adults grow thirty-two, which are evenly distributed between the jaws. Most adults have had a few teeth removed. The four flat teeth in the front of each jaw are called incisors. They are the first teeth to emerge in children and are the most important for forming speech. To the sides of the incisors are a single pair of cuspids, which are also called canines or eyeteeth. They are sharp and used for piercing. Due to their location at the transition from the front of the jaw to its sides, these teeth are especially important for jaw stability.

The teeth on the sides of the mouth are wide and used for chewing. They are made up of raised cusps with indentations in between. Per jaw, adults have two pairs of premolars, which have a single root. Behind them are three pairs of molars, including the wisdom teeth, which are furthest in back. Lower molars have two roots, while upper molars have three.

Downtown Dental LLC operates its Loop office at 25 E Washington St, Suite 1921, Chicago, Illinois, 60602. Call 312-782-8862. The River North office is at 676 N Michigan Ave, Suite #3500, Chicago, IL, 60611. Call 312-274-3333. Visit Downtown Dental online.