A dental bridge can be a good way to span an empty gap or space in your mouth. Most bridges are normally a span of materials which are connected to a tooth on either side of the gap or the missing teeth, but what do you do when there is no tooth on one side to connect to? Fortunately, in a case like this, a cantilever dental bridge may be the answer.
What Is A Cantilever Dental Bridge?
A cantilever dental bridge is constructed out of the same types of dental materials that are used in a traditional bridge. The differences come in on how the bridge is connected.
A traditional bridge is normally a three unit bridge where a unit on either side is constructed to connect to a prepared tooth on either side of the gap. The third member of the unit is the pontic, or the false tooth, that will fill the gap in the middle.
A cantilever bridge is used when there is no tooth to anchor to on one side of the gap or space that you are attempting to bridge. In this case, a three unit bridge is still suggested, but the connections are made with two teeth on just one side of the gap.
For example: If you assign letters to the three unit dental bridge, a traditional bridge would be A-B-C with A + C being the connecting teeth and B being the pontic. With a cantilever bridge, the A + B would be the connecting units and C would be the pontic.
What Advantages Does A Cantilever Bridge Offer?
A cantilever bridge allows you to fill in a space that would not normally be a candidate for a bridge application. This allows you to obtain a permanent structure that will give you a more stability than you would be able to obtain with dentures.
This type of bridge can be very durable. It can be used in areas in which you exert a high degree of bite force. This will assist you in chewing up your food.
Cantilever bridges can also be a very cost-effective method of addressing missing teeth. Their cost will depend on where you live, the materials being used, and how many teeth you are attempting to bridge or replace. You will find that these average anywhere from $500 - $3,000 per unit. This means that a three unit bridge could run anywhere from $1,500 - $9,000.
Share13 January 2016
Do you have "bad teeth"? I do. Ever since I was a kid, every checkup turns up a number of issues ranging from cavities to dental fractures. It has always been frustrating to keep my smile in decent shape, which is one of the reasons I started focusing on understanding different dental problems. I wanted to know what I was getting into when I visited the doctor, so I began focusing on learning as much as I could. I wanted to create this blog all about dentistry so that other people could find out what to expect when they head to the dentist. Check it out!
