I am getting some dental work done. First, I need a tooth extracted that is between two teeth that already have dental implants. In addition, I’ve got a chipped front tooth. I am going to have dental bonding done to fix that and feel comfortable with that choice. What is worrying me is the missing tooth. Would a Maryland Bridge be able to bond to dental work?
Catherine
Dear Catherine,
While the short answer is yes, there are complications in trying this. First, most dentists don’t understand the proper procedure for bonding a Maryland Bridge. They think it is simply a matter of grinding the adjacent teeth and bonding on the metal wings of the bridge to the teeth. This is not enough and will cause the bridge to dislodge too easily. Little grooves need to be added to the teeth to help secure the wings, as pictured above.
A second issue is that the wings of the bridge do not bond to porcelain as securely as they do to natural tooth structure. Bonding to porcelain is completely different than bonding to natural teeth and not many dentists understand this difference. This is an additional risk for your bridge.
The best thing would have been for your dentist, knowing that you’ve already lost the two adjacent teeth, to do some forward planning. Hopefully, your dentist thought ahead and placed your dental implants in a way that would make the abutments parallel and used screw retained crowns. This way when the tooth in the center is lost, he or she could just unscrew the crowns and attach a bridge to it.
If your dentist did not do that and you have enough room, a good solution would be to place a third dental implant between the other two.
The Most Important Decision Regarding Dental Bonding
As for the repair to your front tooth. Dental bonding is a fantastic way to repair a chipped or gapped tooth. One thing to bear in mind is that this is an advanced dental procedure that has to be done freehand. If you want to make certain that you have a beautiful, natural looking result you will want to check that your dentist has advanced cosmetic dentistry training. This is especially important because it is a front tooth.
These are more exposed to the light and all the variations of your teeth are exposed. In your place, I would look for a dentist accredited by the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry (AACD). This is different from a simple membership. AACD accredited dentists passed stringent exams and have proven artistry. They will give you a result that blends both naturally and beautifully.
This blog is brought to you by Jenkinstown, PA Dentist Dr. Michael Weiss.
