Types of Bridges

We’ve provided a lot of people with new teeth at Enid Dental Care. Thanks to advances in modern dentistry, there are now many options for tooth replacements. We wanted to take this opportunity to explain more about different kinds of bridges.

A bridge is a set of replacement crowns in one structure. A classical bridge was made up of two crowns which were placed over reshaped natural teeth, with a third crown suspended between them. Natural teeth tend to be more resilient than artificial ones so a dentist wouldn’t usually want to reshape them unless they need new crowns anyway. However, this method does have the advantage of leaving patients with their natural tooth roots.

It is also possible for dentures to be supported by implants. All-on-fours or all-on-sixes are bridges that are used to replace all the teeth in a jaw and are held permanently in place with normal-sized implants. Removable dentures can also be held in place with mini-implants. Partial implants have the advantage of allowing dentists to be more selective about which teeth a bridge replaces since they don’t require all the teeth in a row to be reshaped, but the denture itself will need to be replaced if the intervening teeth shift. Regardless of what kind of bridge a patient has, they will need to brush it on a daily basis.

Dr. Dennis Morehart, Master of the Academy of General Dentistry, operates Enid Dental Care at 2411 Heritage Trail, Ste #4, Enid, Oklahoma, 73703. To schedule an appointment, call 580-237-2213 or visit Enid Dental Care and fill out a contact sheet.

 

Vertical Dimension Loss

As a Master in the Academy of General Dentistry, Dr. Dennis Morehart of Enid is has experience treating some of the most complicated oral health problems. In people who are missing several teeth, the loss of vertical dimension in the face poses a threat to their appearance, comfort, and overall quality of life. It can even lead to bite collapse, which is why we want our patients to know more about it.

The teeth help to stabilize the jaw bones. When tooth roots are removed, the tissue from the jaw bone dissolves, and the face shrinks. This causes wrinkles to develop in the skin in between the nose and the mouth and makes the lower part of their heads look disproportionately small. It can also trigger temporomandibular joint disorder (TMJD), resulting in pain throughout the jaw, head, neck, and shoulders. If the back teeth are missing, patients may attempt to chew with their incisors, causing the front teeth to be pushed horizontal and causing misalignment problems as well as loss of vertical dimension.

There are a few options for preventing or repairing this. When a full set of dentures are fabricated, dentists take care to match the height of the artificial crowns to the patient’s needs. The temporary dentures worn as part of the treatment help to ensure the crown size is correct. If larger implants are being used to secure dental bridges, the patient may have additional jaw bone material grafted on by a surgeon.

Dr. Dennis Morehart, Master of the Academy of General Dentistry, operates Enid Dental Care at 2411 Heritage Trail, Ste #4, Enid, Oklahoma, 73703. To schedule an appointment, call 580-237-2213 or visit Enid Dental Care and fill out a contact sheet.

 

How to Care for Dentures

When patients receive dentures, preventing dry sockets is the first order of business, but learning a new oral health regimen is the second. At Enid Dental Care, we understand that getting dentures can be frightening, which is why we want our patients to know that we are anticipating their needs by providing them with information about proper denture care.

There are many kinds of dentures, but what they have in common is that they need to be removed for cleaning every night. Doing this will also give the patient the chance to brush their mouth, including their tongue and any exposed metal, such as implants or a bar support. People should only brush their mouths with soft-bristled brushes, and the same is true while brushing their dentures. But patients should also take care to select a toothpaste which has been approved for use on dentures because toothpaste for normal teeth contains gritty minerals that scratch artificial teeth, which lack natural protective films.

Anytime they are not in the patient’s mouth, dentures should be left soaking in room-temperature liquid. The liquid may be water or a cleaning solution, but it must not be hot enough to warp the denture’s thin plastic. Although it is expected that dentures will need to be refitted on occasion, this should only be done in a dental laboratory by professionals.

Dr. Dennis Morehart, Master of the Academy of General Dentistry, operates Enid Dental Care at 2411 Heritage Trail, Ste #4, Enid, Oklahoma, 73703. To schedule an appointment, call 580-237-2213 or visit EnidDentalCare.com and fill out a contact sheet.