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How Long Do Dental Bridges Last?

If you have a missing tooth, a bridge may be a good option for you. As opposed to more costly and time-consuming implants, the space where your tooth used to be may be supplanted with an artificial structure, supported by your surrounding teeth, bridges the artificial tooth and your natural teeth. Bridges don't last forever, though, and their longevity depends quite a bit on you.

  1. Duration

    • Estimates of dental bridge durability vary slightly depending on the source you turn to for information. Colgate says you should expect bridges to stay strong for five to seven years. New York Presbyterian Hospital reports that most bridges last eight to 10 years, and the American Academy of Implant Dentistry offers the widest time range: five to 10 years.

    Warning

    • One of the biggest threats to your bridge comes from food getting caught between the bridge and the teeth it's connected to, according to the American Academy of Implant Dentistry. It can be hard to reach this area with floss, so the space around the bridgework may start to decay without proper cleaning.

    Tips

    • New York Presbyterian Hospital suggests using a special type of threaded floss that is made to access spots that are hard to reach. The better these areas are cleaned, the better the odds your bridgework and surrounding natural teeth will remain healthy for upwards of 10 years. NYPH urges those with bridgework to get cleanings every six months and stay away from sugars, which can lead to decay that spreads to healthy teeth.

    Types

    • The type of bridge that is selected can play a role in how long the structure will last. According to Dr. Sharon L. Albright of California-based Aesthetic Restorative Dentistry, there are four primary types of bridges: traditional, whereby a false tooth is affixed to crowns placed on the neighboring teeth; cantilever, where a natural tooth exists on only one side of the missing tooth; Maryland bonded, whereby false teeth are supported by a metal framework and implant-supported bridges, which are integrated using implants when teeth don't exist on either side of a gap. Albright reports that the traditional is the strongest and most popular option, while the Maryland bridge doesn't require as much tooth preparation but is also the least durable of the four options. In addition, materials can make a difference, with gold bridges remaining the best option for their strength. Porcelain bridges are the most natural-looking, but are also the weakest material.

    Considerations

    • After a period of initial healing, there are two major factors that impact how long your bridge will stay viable: How you wear down your teeth and how you keep them free of plaque and the resulting decay. According to Colgate, when it comes to how you use your teeth, it's important to stay away form anything that might damage your bridgework, and that includes all the tough to eat stuff like caramel, peanut brittle and taffy--the very food items that may have contributed to your having to replace your tooth in the first place.

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