When it comes to replacing missing teeth, the dental bridge and dental implants are the most commonly used strategies. In the past, replacing a missing tooth with a bridge required the dentist to grind the bridge anchor teeth down to little nubs. This was a major disadvantage to the dental bridge ... especially when the adjacent anchor teeth were in perfect condition.

An Alternative to the Traditional Dental Bridge

Thank goodness modern dentistry has an excellent alternative to the traditional dental bridge. No longer do we have to mutilate perfectly good teeth just to replace a missing one. Today, we can replace missing teeth with very conservative, metal free bridges that save most of the precious tooth structure on the adjacent anchor teeth. This type of dental bridge is called an inlay bridge, and zirconia makes it all possible.

The Strong Zirconia Dental Bridge

Zirconia is a fantastic metal free material that can be used to make crowns, dental bridges and implants. What's so unusual about zirconia? Well, for starters it's an esthetic, metal free ceramic material that is as strong as metal. Most other ceramics tend to be brittle and somewhat prone to fracture. Not zirconia ... it can be used to make a conservative, metal free inlay dental bridge that is as strong and durable as a metal one.

A Conservative Dental Bridge

The inlay bridge is an elegant and conservative solution to single tooth replacement. We simply prepare small slots in the top surface of the adjacent anchor teeth. The zirconia replacement tooth is fitted with small ceramic wings that fit precisely into to prepared slots. The entire dental bridge unit, the wings and the replacement tooth, are bonded in place and viola ... you have a new tooth without sacrificing precious tooth structure or going through surgery to have an implant.

If you have a missing tooth and have been reluctant to replace it with a traditional dental bridge or implant, give some thought to and inlay bridge. The zirconia dental bridge have changed everything as far as tooth replacement is concerned.