Dental bridge restorations are used to replace a tooth that was lost to a cavity, trauma, or an extraction. They are from durable materials that are intended to restore the tooth’s function.
If you participate in a contact sport without the protection of a mouth guard, or your grind your teeth at night on a frequent basis, you could damage your bridge. If you have a bad habit of chewing on pens, and pencils, or using your teeth as tools, you are also at increased risk of fracturing your dental bridge.
Even if you don’t feel any immediate discomfort or distress, you should still have the damaged dental work examined and addressed at Dr. Keith Dodge’s clinic. Any significant delay could lead to undue complications.
While you wait for your appointment, there are a few basic first-aid considerations to help reduce your chances of further problems.
You can gently rinse the area with saltwater if you have blood or debris in your mouth from an accident. Any other cleaning procedures should be left to Dr. Dodge.
If you’re waiting for your appointment and you are hungry, you need to avoid chewing food on the affected side of your mouth. Try to choose something soft like applesauce, yogurt, or a banana. The more you manipulate a damaged dental bridge the more likely you are to also damage one of the anchoring abutments.
If you are in the Orem, Utah, area and you have a chipped or fractured dental bridge, you should not delay in calling 801-225-8060 to have it examined and treated at Dodge Family Dental.