Patient education · Freedom Dental Implants
The short answer
An implant-supported bridge replaces several missing teeth with connected replacement teeth attached to dental implants. Dr. Ackerman explains that the implants support the bridge in place of tooth roots and that she cements the bridge onto the implants.
When several teeth are missing, you may want an option that stays in place. In this video, Dr. Regan Ackerman explains the two parts of an implant-supported bridge: the connected replacement teeth and the implants that support them.
What is an implant-supported bridge? So first of all, a bridge is essentially when we’re just replacing more than one tooth. We call it a bridge. A single tooth is called a crown. But when we put two teeth together or three teeth together or we’re doing multiple teeth, we now call it a bridge. Essentially, the teeth are splinted together. So that’s what the bridge part is. For an implant-supported bridge, in this model we have the mini dental implants, which are a lot less invasive.
I would place these mini implants using just local anesthetic, and then we use the implants to support the bridge. So I would place the implants, and then I’m able to cement this bridge, the teeth, onto the implants so that that bridge, the teeth, gets cemented permanently onto the mini dental implants. And then you have something to chew with again or fill out your smile to replace those missing teeth.
So, in an implant-supported bridge, the bridge part is multiple teeth splinted together, and the implant part is the titanium screws that kind of act like the roots of the teeth to stabilize the bridge so we can cement the bridge onto them.
If you’re interested in learning more about implant-supported dental bridges, we invite you to schedule a free consultation with Dr. Regan Ackerman at Freedom Dental Implants in Louisville, Kentucky. We look forward to giving you the freedom to smile.
Understanding the implants and the bridge
The bridge is the part you see and use for chewing. The implants provide its support. Dr. Ackerman’s explanation helps separate these two parts of treatment, so you can better understand how the missing teeth will be replaced.
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