Building a traditional fixed bridge usually requires two visits to your dentist.
During the first visit, the dentist will prepare the teeth on either side of the space left by the missing tooth - these teeth will act as anchors, or abutments, for the false tooth. You'll be given an anesthetic. Once you're numb, your dentist will remove the outer portion of each "abutment" to accommodate the thickness of the crown.
If the teeth have fillings, part of the material may be left in place to serve as a foundation for the crown. Expect the procedure to take at least a couple of hours.
An impression is then made, from which the entire bridge - both crowns and the false tooth - is created. The impression is sent to a dental laboratory. Fabrication of the bridge could take 2-3 weeks.
During this time, you will be wearing a "temporary" bridge. This temporary bridge is made of acrylic resins and will protect the tooth and gum tissue while the permanent bridge is being formed.
At the second visit, the temporary bridge is removed and the permanent bridge is fitted. Expect to spend an hour and a half or more for this visit while your dentist checks for accuracy, adjusts for any bite discrepancies and evaluates for appearance. If all these factors are acceptable, the bridge will be cemented to your teeth.
The treatment changes somewhat, for other types of bridges.
Some bridges are more conservative meaning they require taking away less of the tooth and are used in areas of less stress such as the front teeth.
With the "cantilever" bridge, used if there are teeth on only one side of the missing tooth, the false tooth is anchored to crowns that span one or more natural teeth.
In each case, total treatment time is usually between 2-4 weeks.
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