Cleaning Fixed Bridges

When we provide patients with replacement teeth at the Shoal Creek Prosthodontic Group, we hope that they will maintain the proper oral hygiene regimen to make their new teeth last. But there are many types of tooth replacements, and different techniques may have to be used. Let’s take a look at fixed bridges.

When a bridge is cemented to pontic teeth or supported by implants, the main concern is cleaning the area beneath the bridge. When bridges are supported by the surrounding teeth, the most common cleaning method is to thread a strand of floss under the bridge and loop it around. The patient will then slide the floss along each tooth surface and rub it along the underside of the bridge with a back-and-forth motion. The looping may be accomplished with a threader, such as the ones used with orthodontics, or with specialty floss that has a stiffened portion.

Implant supported bridges may be cleaned similarly, but the larger spaces beneath the bridge may also make the use of a proxy brush desirable. (Proxy brushes are the little ones shaped like Christmas trees.) Electric toothbrushes and Waterpiks are also now being manufactured with special tips for cleaning implants.

Frederick Shaw, DDS, operates the Shoal Creek Prosthodontic Group at 1500 W 38^th Street, Suite 34, Austin, Texas, 78731. To schedule an appointment, call 512-451-7491 or visit FrederickShawDDS.com and fill out a contact form.