Prosthetic Crown and Bridge Work

Bridges and prostheses serve as replacements for missing teeth if implants are impossible or undesirable. The bridge is a fixed replacement for a tooth and can be prepared if a gap is not too big and has a tooth at either end. The teeth carrying the bridge must be sufficiently stable. They are ground down as for a single crown and act as supporting abutments. Between the two abutments is the pontic, which replaces the missing teeth.

The bridge is cemented to both the supporting abutments. The traditional bridge consists of a metal core with a ceramic veneer. Alternatively today, especially in the aesthetically visible area, a full ceramic bridge can be sed.

It is possible to integrate a bonded bridge or "Maryland bridge" in the anterior region between two healthy teeth. In so doing the teeth adjoining each side of the gap are not fully ground down as they would be for crowns, but 2 areas are prepared on the invisible backs of the teeth, which will act as contact surfaces for attaching the wing-like retainers. The pontic is also made of white ceramic, but the side retainers can be made from ceramic or metal. These are invisible once they are cemented on to the backs of the adjoining teeth.

The prosthesis is a removable false tooth which is used if the gap is too big and implants cannot be made or are unwanted, and for free-end gaps with no adjoining teeth. Here there is no option for attaching a bridge.

In addition, prostheses often have to be used in the transition period following implantation and a healing phase is needed and while the implants are unable to bear any load. Prostheses are attached with clips or other fixing elements to the other teeth and are made from either pure plastic or a more stable and permanent variant with an addition metal frame.