The force of knocking a tooth out of your smile can often create a significant amount of trauma that makes the tooth unable to be saved by the dentist. In this case, the tooth root and any remaining tooth pieces will be extracted to prevent dental infection and discomfort. You may find that replacing a knocked-out tooth with a dental bridge effectively restores your smile.

Once the gums have been given time to completely heal, we can fully replace a tooth with a custom-made dental bridge, which is an artificial tooth designed to look like your natural tooth. It is attached to a base that contains a hollow dental crown at both ends that then anchor the bridge in place by covering abutments formed from the structures of the two neighboring teeth. Dr. Bob Johnson creates the two abutments by removing the tooth enamel layer from these teeth and leaving the dentin layer encasing the pulp and roots untouched.

We need to take a detailed impression of your smile that involves your bite pattern so that a professional dental lab can custom craft your new dental bridge. Temporary crowns formed out of hard plastic can be placed on each abutment to protect it while the actual bridge is completed.

Later, you can schedule a brief second appointment to take off the temporary crowns and cement the permanent dental bridge onto your abutments. Please contact Horizon Dental Care at 970-245-3633 if you have had a tooth knocked out and would like to speak with our experienced dentist about placing a dental bridge in Grand Junction, Colorado.