Dental bridges are one of the many common pieces of dental work that tries to correct problems a patient is having to give them back functionality and cause less pain and discomfort. Dental bridges can be comparable to dentures, but they are not the same thing.

While dentures may cover either the top or bottom row of teeth in a person, or both, dental bridges can come in many different sizes depending on the specific issues a patient is dealing with.

Because of this aspect, many people are interested in knowing what determines the size of dental bridges? Lecanto residents should know that dental professionals will try their best to come up with the best solution possible for specific issues their patient is facing, and depending on those issues, a dentist may want to have a bigger or smaller dental bridge to correct specific problems. 

How Many Problem Teeth are Present?

One of the biggest factors that determines how big a dental bridge is going to be in a patient’s mouth is how many problematic teeth someone is dealing with. 

The only stipulation to this rule is that there has to be more than one tooth that has a crown on it for someone to be fitted with dental bridges. Lecanto residents should know that the usual amount of crowns in a dental bridge are going to be four or less. Anymore is when dental professionals may want to suggest dental implants to their patients instead of a dental bridge.

When a patient only has one problematic tooth, depending on what the issue is, it is most appropriate to correct the tooth with a single dental crown.

What Does the Patient Feel Comfortable Doing?

Another issue that may determine the size of a dental bridge that a patient will get in their mouth revolves around the personal preference of the patient themselves. While a dental bridge may be the best option based on the specific issue or issues for a patient, there are typically more than one way to solve a specific issue.

Not only is that something to consider, but many times when a patient is recommended dental bridges, Lecanto residents may want to go ahead and do additional work to other teeth that are not an issue yet. 

For example, a patient may want to get a full set of dentures instead of just correcting a small issue in tier mouth with a dental bridge. This is going to be a lot more time, money, and work involved in the process, but at the end of the day the patients gets the final decision of what they want to do with their oral health.

*Disclaimer: The views expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of Anchor Dental Care*