“Why is there a gap between my gum and the bridge?”

You must clean under the bridge to keep the two anchor teeth healthy by flossing under the bridge. With no gap you can't clean the bridge. However, we make our bridges so the gap is to the tongue side and you don't see it from the front.

Difficult to give an opinion without seeing. Sometimes it can be the way the bridge was designed.

The gap is there to allow cleaning under the bridge in order to maintain optimal oral hygiene.

Hi there. A gap under a bridge is most likely due to a bridge that wasn't fabricated correctly in the try in phase or due to the requirement of replacing it due to recession seen on an older bridge. Hope that helps .drd

You have lost bone around your bridge and the gums followed the bone

Hello,

There could be a few different reasons for a gap between the gums (gingiva) and a bridge; but two are most common.
First, when a tooth is extracted the jaw bone and gum tissue tends to atrophy (shrink). The body does not have to support a tooth anymore so there is no need to have that much bone or gums anymore. This means, since the bridge was done right away, the gums may move away from the bridge (this does not happen in all people).
Secondly, the bridge could have been made that way. If the bridge is in the back some dentist make it with a small gap between the gums and the bridge to try to promote hygiene and keep the area clean. However, this type of practice is rarely done anymore and could be the work of a low quality office. Hope this helps.

My best to you!

William F. Scott IV, DMD

Great question. When you remove a tooth, you have left a hole in the bone without having bone grafting in the site of extraction over time and with age your gums start to recede. it is called atrophy or better known as bone loss. The only way to fix the gap is new bridge or to slow down the loss of bone is to have bone grafting to replace the bone missing followed by implant which will act as a root substitute and your body will then tell itself to continue growing bone and gum tissue in the site. Moral of this is it is never a good idea to have an extraction and not replace it will a solution that will last a life time. And if you have an extraction, you should always have bone grafting in that site to preserve the bone height depth and width.

Best regards,

Dr. Mary Z. Collier, DDS