Brockley Dental Blog, Dental Bridges, Dental Crowns, Dental Implants, Dentures, Mini Dental Implants, Restorative Dentistry

Roundhouse Bridges Are A More Secure Solution To Tooth Loss

Roundhouse Bridges in Butler, PA | Secure and Beautiful Smiles

You’ve heard of dentures before. These notoriously bulky prosthetics replace your entire smile, relying on your jawbone and suction to the roof of your mouth for support. Maybe you’ve even heard of a dental bridge before. Similar in function to an actual bridge, dental bridges span the gap between two teeth, filling in the empty space. Often, they are made of a row of dental crowns fused together called pontics. These pontics need an anchor, which the natural teeth on either side of the gap provide. Using dental crowns, we secure the ends of the bridge to your healthy teeth, providing a stable restoration. But what about roundhouse bridges? Are they dentures? Are they bridges? Brockley Dental Center is glad to provide all the basic information you need to make an informed decision!

What Are Roundhouse Bridges?

Roundhouse Bridges in Butler, PA | Secure and Beautiful SmilesWhile roundhouse bridges do function like dentures, they are technically dental bridges due to their construction. Unlike traditional dentures with the pink gum base, roundhouse bridges are entire arches of pontics, formed together to create a beautiful smile!

With a sleek horseshoe-like design, roundhouse bridges look incredibly natural in your mouth, resembling natural teeth. Where traditional dentures have bulky bases, roundhouse bridges rely on mini dental implants for support! These implants provide a much more stable foundation than your jawbone, as they stay in place while keeping your jaw healthy and full.

Natural teeth have important tooth roots that secure your smile and help stimulate your jawbone when you eat. The pressure of your bite keeps your jaw healthy and full, and without it, your bone will begin to resorb. Traditional dental bridges and dentures don’t replace these roots, allowing your bone to continue losing mass and volume over time. Unfortunately, that causes a lot of instability problems for patients like you in need of a stable smile.

However, roundhouse bridges don’t rely on the jawbone for support. They use mini dental implants instead, which actively promote jawbone health and act as artificial tooth roots. The problem is that the longer you wait to restore your smile with implants, the less bone you’ll have. Jawbone structure is crucial for implant placement, making it more challenging to restore your smile with dental implants. Fortunately, mini dental implants are a sleeker and more accessible type of dental implant that requires less bone structure for placement!

Using Mini Dental Implants To Secure Your Smile

Roundhouse Bridges in Butler, PA | A Mini Dental Implant

Mini dental implants are less than 3 millimeters in diameter and have an innovative single-piece design.

Because of their small diameter, we can place these implants in minimal bone, often without the need for a bone graft. Their narrow width also allows us to use a minimally invasive procedure for placement, facilitating faster healing. After a mini implant placement, you can expect to feel minimal discomfort and manageable soreness post-procedure.

Additionally, these implants have the potential for immediate loading. Due to their construction and the preservation of surrounding tissues, mini implants are instantly stable enough to support a temporary restoration. With other implant procedures, healing is often a long and drawn-out process that involves incisions, multiple appointments, and discomfort. With mini implants, you can say goodbye to the hassle and enjoy a simple yet effective procedure that supports your roundhouse bridge!

At Brockley Dental Center, we provide two types of roundhouse bridges.

  • Semi-permanent roundhouse bridge: Secured by 6 to 10 implants, this restoration provides a strong and reliable smile. While you never remove a semi-permanent roundhouse bridge, we will remove it for routine dental appointments to ensure the health of your smile.
  • Permanent roundhouse bridge: Using 10-12 mini implants, we secure this restoration as a permanent solution for total tooth loss. A permanent roundhouse bridge is cemented in place, never to come out. This denture effectively functions like your natural teeth, and provides a natural-looking appearance as well!

We will discuss your smile goals during your initial consultation to determine if either of these roundhouse bridges is a perfect fit for your smile.

We Provide Roundhouse Bridges Supported by Mini Dental Implants

While you’re familiar with dentures and traditional bridges, we encourage you to learn more about roundhouse bridges as a potential solution. At Brockley Dental Center, we secure these sleek restorations on mini dental implants to provide lasting and functional smiles. With the various benefits mini implants offer and the natural-looking appearance of a roundhouse bridge, you can ensure that your smile is as secure and as beautiful as possible.

Book an appointment today to learn if you’re eligible for mini dental implant solutions!

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Donald B. Brockley, DMD

Dr. Brockley earned his doctorate degree in Dental Medicine from the University of Pittsburgh, School of Dental Medicine in 1972. He is a second generation dentist and a legacy of the University of Pittsburgh, School of Dental Medicine where his father, Dr. Charles R. Brockley earned his doctorate in general dentistry in the year 1927. While attending the University of Pittsburgh, School of Dental Medicine, he held the office of Class Secretary for his graduating class. Following dental school, he chose to do his residency training at Wilmington Medical Center in Wilmington, Delaware, with a focus on research. Upon completing his residency, Dr. Brockley enlisted in the Navy during the Vietnam War Era as a Naval Officer. Dr. Brockley opened his own private practice 1975 in Butler, PA a historic town just 34 miles north of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Dr. Brockley held the office of President of the Butler County Dental Society. After many years of practice, Dr. Brockley realized that fear is the #1 reason why people do not visit their dentist regularly. Therefore, he made it his mission to find an alternative way to practice (and to help his patients overcome this fear). This alternative was through Sedation Dentistry. In 1996 he became trained in Conscious Oral Sedation. This technique allowed him to treat fearful patients by gently putting them to sleep with the aid of a pill, not needle IV sedation which was the popular treatment at that time. Dr. Brockley received his dental training at the following institutions: University of Pittsburgh, School of Dental Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA Tufts University, School of Dental Medicine, Boston, MA University of North Carolina, School of Dentistry, Raleigh, NC Mini Dental Implant Training Centre, Buffalo, NY. Due to the high number of patients who are diabetic in his practice, his next goal was to understand the impact of Diabetes in Dentistry. Due to the subset of Diabetic patients in his practice who had similar recurring oral and systemic health problems, special attention became warranted. This led to a different standard of care and treatment for patients whose health was compromised by diabetes. Early detection, observation, evaluation and treatment to eradicate infection plays a major role in maintaining oral health for diabetic patients. Poorly managed treatment for diabetic patients has been shown to lead to a higher risk of uncontrolled gum disease and vice versa, making prevention of gum disease the #1 priority for this subset of patients. Dr. Brockley’s research on dentistry for diabetics led him to his next specialization: the treatment and eradication of gum disease. His aim has been to change the the treatment of gum disease, also known as periodontal disease. For this reason, he designed a radically different protocol to the Soft Tissue Management (STM) program. STM treats the symptoms of gum disease, and more importantly, the underlying cause of gum disease, bacteria. Studies have shown that gum disease affects 80% of American adults. However, Dr. Brockley has observed that more than 90% of his baby boomer patients have gum disease. His unique STM protocol has shown significant success within his patient population. With patient knowledge, understanding, and cooperation, Dr. Brockley is able to arrest and manage gum disease in his practice. After perfecting his procedures for crowns, bridges, partials and dentures to replace missing teeth, the introduction of Small Diameter Implants (also known as SDI or Mini Dental Implants) into his practice has revolutionized the way Dr. Brockley practices cosmetic dentistry. Small Diameter Implants provide the possibility of full mouth restoration, multiple teeth restoration, or single tooth restoration. Small Diameter Implants can be implemented in all types of tooth and bone conditions, in all ages, and in all types of health conditions. Dr. Brockley uses Small Diameter Implants to restore chewing ability and create beautiful smiles, which ultimately changes peoples’ lives. Dr. Brockley is the proud owner and operator of the first Mini Dental Implant Center of America in the Greater Pittsburgh area. Dr. Brockley has achieved Diplomate status in the International Academy of Mini Dental Implants. He is the President Emeritus of the Butler County Dental Society. Dr. Brockley was also a Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy Dental Corps. He is a a lifetime member of the Delta Sigma Dental Fraternity, and he was the Class Secretary for the University of Pittsburgh Dental School. Dr. Brockley likes to spend time with his family at home or while traveling, has been an avid scuba diver since 1980, and describes himself as a “just okay” golfer.

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