Dental Bridges

A dental bridge replaces one or more missing teeth in a row by anchoring a false tooth to the natural teeth on either side of the gap, restoring the bite without surgery in the jawbone.

How it’s built

A traditional fixed bridge consists of two crowns — one on each tooth bordering the gap — connected to a false tooth or teeth (the pontic) that fills the space between them. The two anchor teeth are reduced and prepared the same way they would be for individual crowns, an impression or scan is taken, and the whole unit is fabricated as one connected piece, then cemented over the two prepared teeth. Because it’s cemented rather than removable, a fixed bridge functions and feels much like natural teeth once in place.

Where the load actually goes

The bridge doesn’t have its own root — the chewing force on the pontic transfers through the connected structure to the two supporting teeth and, from there, into the bone around those teeth. This is why the condition of the anchor teeth matters as much as the gap itself: they need enough bone support and structural integrity to comfortably carry the extra load of a tooth that isn’t their own. A dentist evaluates this with an exam and x-rays before recommending a bridge over another option.

Alternatives, and why a bridge might be chosen over them

An implant avoids reducing the neighboring teeth entirely, since it places its own root in the bone, but it requires adequate bone volume, a longer healing timeline, and a surgical step that a bridge doesn’t. A removable partial denture is less invasive to the neighboring teeth than a bridge but comes out for cleaning and can feel less secure. A bridge tends to be chosen when the adjacent teeth already need crowns anyway, when a patient wants a fixed (non-removable) solution but isn’t a good implant candidate, or when treatment needs to move faster than an implant’s healing timeline allows.

The Maryland bridge, for a more conservative option

For a single missing front tooth with light bite force, a resin-bonded (Maryland) bridge is a less invasive alternative — instead of full crowns, a thin wing is bonded to the back of the neighboring teeth, preserving much more of their natural structure. It generally isn’t as strong as a full-crown bridge and is reserved for lower-load situations, but it’s a meaningful option when preserving the adjacent teeth is a priority.

Caring for a bridge

Because the pontic sits against the gum without its own root, cleaning underneath it requires different technique than flossing between natural teeth — typically a floss threader, purpose-made bridge floss, or a water flosser to get under the connecting piece. Plaque left to accumulate there, or at the margins of the two supporting crowns, is the most common way a bridge eventually fails: not the bridge material itself, but decay or gum disease developing at the teeth holding it up.