Throughout the history of dentistry, the needs and desires of people have often changed, resulting in numerous types of dental bridges and crowns. You’ve probably heard of gold or metal dental bridges and crowns. Such benefits have been standard in the past. Gold, in terms of its physical properties, is an excellent material for dental restorations, but it cannot satisfy today’s high aesthetic requirements. Its price is high. With the advent of all ceramic dental bridges and crowns that have superior both physical and aesthetic properties, gold has been suppressed from wider use.

To have complete comfort, your bridge must be well done with respect to all the principles of tooth preparation and bridge construction. It is necessary to know the material and a good assessment of the situations in which certain types of dental bridges can be used. Only in this way can we guarantee the longevity of prosthetic work without harmful consequences on the abutment teeth and the surrounding tissue.

The dental team of the Cvjetković practice has the necessary knowledge and skills and we are constantly improving them through various trainings at home and abroad.

Types of dental bridges according to purpose

With the development of new materials and technologies today, there are many types of dental bridges and dental crowns. They differ in their purpose and material from which they were made.

The simplest division would be into temporary and definitive dental bridges.

Temporary dental bridges are made for a certain period of time, usually while the definitive bridge is being made. The teeth are cemented with temporary cement and can be removed and re-cemented as needed. Even within temporary ones, there are different types of dental bridges:

– Temporary bridges that last about 2 weeks – are made in the office immediately after grinding teeth. They are not resistant enough for longer use, they are not glazed and due to the porosity of the material they change color over time.

– Temporary dental bridges that last for several months – are made in the office and dental laboratory, they are smooth and do not change color.

Both types of dental bridges have their “shelf life” and should not be used for longer than the recommended time.

The types of definite dental bridges are also numerous. What they have in common is that after making, the supports are permanently cemented on the teeth and cannot be removed except by completely cutting and destroying the bridge.

There are certain specifics when making bridges on natural teeth and bridges on dental implants. Also, the difference is the production of dental bridges on a smaller number of teeth / implants or “bridges over the entire jaw”.

Types of dental bridges according to material

The types of dental bridges differ the most in the material from which they were made. The division into porcelain fused to metal crown (PFM) and all ceramic bridges is well known, although this division is not entirely accurate. In any case, in the case of PFM bridges, the base is made of an alloy of metal or titanium, and in the case of all ceramic bridges of zircon. Ceramics in the shape and color of a natural tooth are baked on such a base.

Types of dental bridges according to construction

Dental bridges can have different shapes;

  • traditional bridges that rest on two sides (on both sides of the edentulous field);
  • suspension bridge with support on one side only;
  • Maryland Bridge;
  • bridge on dental implants

A traditional dental bridge generally consists of three or more crowns, physically joined into one whole. The connection between the crowns is not aesthetically visible, they look like individual teeth. These types of dental bridges have the greatest stability and are most often made. On both sides, they are supported on the supporting teeth, which, in order to accept the bridge, must be prepared and collapsed.

The hanging dental bridge rests on the tooth bracket only on one side while there is no support on the other. The construction of this bridge is limited, it has much weaker resistance compared to the traditional bridge. The condition for making such a bridge is that there are two adjacent abutment teeth that compensate for one missing tooth, whereby the abutment teeth in the jaws are located behind in relation to the missing tooth.

The Maryland dental bridge can compensate for only one lost tooth in the front of the jaws. It relies on its extensions on the natural nearest teeth and they do not have to be extensively ground due to the acceptance of the bridge. It is not resistant enough and is rarely made.

The dental bridge on the implants is fixed to the dental implants instead of on the natural teeth and requires prior implant placement. This type of dental bridge has certain specifics in planning and transmitting pressure during chewing. The crowns are made somewhat narrower and often have a layer of pink pottery that imitates the gums.