Dental speak can be very confusing.  The dentist is trying to explain a treatment he or she recommends and the terms sound like a foreign language.  Sometimes they just don’t sound like they belong in dentistry let alone your mouth.  So what is an abutment?

The dictionary defines it as “a place where projecting parts meet; junction.”  So in the mouth this is applied to the place where a bridge attaches to – it bridges teeth.  If you are missing a molar, specifically your 6 year molar - the first ones you got as a child, and you want to fill in the space so you can chew better and prevent the collapse and shifting of the teeth around the space.  The bridge would span the molar behind the space, fill the space and the premolar in front of it.  The molar and premolar are abutments. 

This same science can use the root of a tooth to support or stabilize a bridge, denture, or other prosthetic appliance.  This is engineering and healthcare blended to deliver dentistry that works and looks good.  An abutment bridges teeth together, holds dentures and other prosthetics in place and allows patients to have full function and esthetics.