Missing one or more teeth is common for many people.
The ADA reports that on average adult patients may have three or more missing teeth. Fortunately, there are a number of solutions to replace missing teeth, including dental bridges.
A dental bridge provides a functional and aesthetic replacement for the patient's natural teeth. A dental bridge has two primary components: the abutments (or supports) created by placing a crown on a natural tooth or an implant on either side of the missing tooth and the synthetic tooth that replaces the missing tooth.
For patients missing three or more adjacent teeth, one or more implants may provide the abutments for the bridge and be used as an alternative to traditional partial dentures. This restoration typically requires two implants to support the porcelain bridge.