Can dental bridges replace several teeth? i'm missing three teeth in a row on the lower right side of my mouth, and would like to know if a bridge would be able to that, or if that is too many teeth.

That's : That's an excellent question and the answer depends on which teeth are missing and the condition of the abutment teeth (teeth the bridge is going to hang on to). I would not recommend that you use your wisdom tooth as a terminal abutment. As a very loose rule of thumb, we try to keep the ratio of abutments to total teeth in the bridge greater than 1:2 for example, if you are missing one tooth, and you make a bridge that is a total of three teeth (one tooth behind the space and one in front), the ratio would be 2:3, etc a bridge such as the one you described, to fall into the minimum ratio, would be 6 teeth long (3 pontics and three abutments). And that depends on the condition of the abutments. Are the abutments in good shape (do they need crowns or will your dentist be cutting down good teeth)? These are questions that need to be answered before you proceed. In addition, were you given the option of placing dental implants? They are an excellent alternative and the treatment of choice instead of cutting down healthy teeth. Hope this info helps.

Dallas, Yes : Dallas, yes a bridge can span many teeth. The real question is does it have the anchorage needed to do so. If we take your local river, the trinity, we can build a bridge from one bank to the other as long as we have a solid foundation on each side. We could even build a longer bridge if we have stronger foundations, referred to as abutments. But if we had a swamp on one side, now the difficulty of supporting the bridge increases. Same in your mouth. The more teeth you want to replace the more anchorage you need. This anchorage not only referres to number of teeth, but also the root structure of those teeth and their position in relation to the missing teeth. You should always consider other options as well. Remember that ridiculously expensive bridge they wanted to build to a small island in alaska with very few people, maybe the plane was a better option. Hope this is helpful, michael i. Wollock, dmd, agd fellow dentistry at suburban square 610-649-0313 www.Dentistryatsuburbansquare.Com.

Dental : Dental bridges can replace several teeth. Three teeth in a row is a lot for a non removable fixed bridge. Consider an implant in the middle. &/or consider telescopes on posterior (back) lone standing teeth. A removable bridge may be the solution for that many consecutive missing teeth in a row, if it is all your back teeth. If it is front teeth other considerations come into play. Your dentist can help you decide....

The : The short answer is yes, a dental bridge can replace several missing teeth. However, in order to make sure that this bridge will last (i.e. It won't break or the achor teeth holding this brdge inplace do not fracture) we need to make sure the span (or lenght) of the bridge is not too long and the teeth supporting this bridge can handle all the chewing force. Replacing 3 missing teeth on the side (i'm assuming this is in the back) might be pushing it! you might need to consider placing some dental implants in that area.