How Much Do Dental Bridges Cost in Winnipeg?
A dental bridge is a fixed restoration that helps replace a missing teeth by placing an artificial tooth in the open spot and have it joined to a unit that gets fixed onto neighboring teeth. The most common type of bridge is a 3-unit bridge. This typically consists of a retainer, a pontic and a second retainer, in that order. The retainer teeth add a support system to hold the pontic ‘up’. The word pontic, is derived from the french word, ‘pont’, which means bridge. Basically, you have land on both sides (the retainers) and the suspended portion (the pontic) in the middle.
On average, a 3-unit dental implant bridge in Winnipeg will range from $2500 - $3500 for a traditional bridge. The cost will however vary depending on how many teeth you are replacing, and how many units the bridge will be.
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A tooth is prepared for receiving the retainer in the exact same way that a single tooth is prepared to receive a crown. In essence, a tooth has all 5 sides of its surface reduced to accommodate the crown (the top, front, back and both sides). When you do this two times for both retainers on either side of the space, you have yourself a dental bridge!
As you might have guessed, a dental bridge is used to fill in a space where a tooth was extracted or missing. When a tooth is pulled, the entire tooth is extracted. A tooth is comprised of a crown on top and the roots underneath it. This means that not only is the crown of the tooth extracted, so also are the roots. And when the bridge is inserted, the only part of the tooth that is replaced is the crown.
Underneath the pontic of the bridge is the gum tissue. The bridge will be intimately adapted to the gums so as not to impinge on them or leave a gap. It simply rests on top of the tissues. Under the tissue is another story. Where tooth roots once were, this space gets filled in with bone. If this was stabilized, we wouldn’t have a problem. However, since there is no proprioception or stimulation to the bone under the pontic, the bone atrophies in height and thickness. This can lead to a gap between the underside of the bridge and the tissues and thinness of the bone under this area.
In most cases that do not get restored in time, the bone atrophies so substantially that dental implants are no longer an option, or a plan to place an implant will now require significant remediation to allow for the area to accept a future implant. One of the strategies that is implemented to help decrease this atrophy is to have simple bone grafting or a socket preservation procedure completed at the time of tooth extraction. This way, the bone does not atrophy right away, as the socket preservation material acts to seed the growth of new bone, instead of shrivelling up from day 1.
Many variations on this 3-unit bridge can be made. Two adjacent teeth can be replaced with two adjacent pontics and two retainers on either side. Again, we run a greater risk of bone atrophy with two sequential tooth roots missing, but, it’s possible for when patients cannot afford two dental implants. Many other variations of retainers can be designed. It is also common to have a retainer-pontic-retainer-pontic-retainer 5-unit bridge. Obviously, the price will increase with the increase in pontics and retainers used.
Sometimes people ask if it’s possible to have a 2-unit bridge with one retainer and one pontic. Although it is possible, there are some design strategies to make this work and some guidelines that we don’t want to violate. There are many different-sized teeth next to each other in the mouth. In essence, if a 2-unit bridge was attempted, you would want to have the retainer on the bigger tooth and the pontic to be placed in the area where the smaller tooth previously was situated.
A quick way to evaluate whether or not a certain combination of retainers and pontics will lend itself to long-term success is to utilize Ante’s Law. This law basically states that the cumulative surface area of the retainer roots must be greater than the cumulative surface areas of missing pontic roots. If this is fulfilled, you will have a better chance of having the bridge last a long time.
Dental bridges can be fabricated out of many different materials. The most common are: porcelain which is bonded to metal, gold or zirconia. Again, the price varies depending on the type of material and thickness required.
Winnipeg’s #1 Source for Affordable Dental Bridges
Dental bridges can also be a great means of attaining better aesthetics. Crooked teeth can be automatically straightened; discoloured teeth can be whitened and ill-shaped teeth can be corrected. The sky is the limit when it comes to increasing your aesthetics with a dental bridge! Come see us for a quick evaluation to see if a dental bridge would be the best choice for you.
Regardless of your insurance, there is no difference in the cost of the bridge. At Shine Dental we offer what we call assisted benefits! This means that you are paying for your dental treatment in full, and your insurance company will reimburse you right away! Our admin staff will be more than happy to send off the claim to your insurance company after the treatment is complete to help with the process.
We offer a few great different payment options!
5% off treatment if paid in full before treatment date with Cash or Debit
3% off treatment if paid in full before treatment date with Credit
PAYBRIGHT – 3rd party financing option