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Medical Forum / General / Dentistry / November 2005Should I try to have my bridge removed & reglued?
I have a top front bridge spanning from eye tooth to eye tooth - 6 teeth, with 1 anchor tooth on the right side and two anchor teeth on the left side holding 3 replacement teeth in the middle. I noticed for the last week or so, that the bridge feels funny on the side with just 1 real tooth and believed the brige had come loose on that side - which my dentist confirmed today. I'm 57 years old and have had a bridge since my mid-20's - this bridge is the second one and is about 12 years old. Several times during the "life" of the first bridge, it came loose on one side, and my former dentists tapped it off and re-glued it. I "thought" that was what was going to happen today. At first, my dentist (whom I have been going to since shortly after I got this bridge) told me it wouldn't be possible to salvage the bridge. When I asked him about removing and re-glueing it (remembering this from the past), he told me that because one tooth (next to the eye tooth on the left side of the bridge) had a root canal done about 18 months ago, it is possible that the tooth will break off if he tries to tap-off the bridge. He said he prefers to cut the bridge off and then start anew or have me get 3 implants (and, one assumes, 3 new crowns). He said he would try to remove and reglue it if I want him to. He's letting me make the decision which I feel ill-equipped to do. On one hand, if we can save the bridge, it is a lot less money, time, trouble, etc.... OTOH, if he tries to remove it and my root canal tooth pulls out or breaks off, I'll be in worse shape than if I tell him to cut the bridge off. I tentatively told his office that I want him to try to remove and reglue the bridge and they set up my next appointment for 11/16 - two weeks from now. Should I try to loosen the other side of the bridge by chewing, or pulling, wiggling it, etc during the next two weeks? Am I foolish to try to avoid having the bridge cut off....or do you think there is a good chance of success? I appreciate any advice and/or experiences this group has to offer. Thanks. > I appreciate any advice and/or experiences this group has to offer. > Thanks. My advice is to forget trying to re-use the bridge and go with the good advice of getting implants and 6 new crowns. I can picture your jaw very well, and will wager that the two front teeth are positioned slightly forward of the two cuspid anchors and when you bite on the front, the forces try to tip off the bridge from he cuspids. This loosed one side already (probably you have some decay there now. The other side was traumatized by this activity and required root canal therapy. Very good chance you will break off the entire tooth trying to tap it off at this point.  Signature/ Amatus / >I have a top front bridge spanning from eye tooth to eye tooth - 6 > teeth, with 1 anchor tooth on the right side and two anchor teeth on [quoted text clipped - 34 lines] > I appreciate any advice and/or experiences this group has to offer. > Thanks. Thank you for your candid advice. It raises another question. The 3 missing front teeth have been missing since I was 12 years old. I was under the impression that jaw bone gradually thins and/or dissolves if there are no roots/implants in it to keep it active. How is it possible to put 3 implants in a jawbone that has not been utilized at all for 45 years? >Thank you for your candid advice. It raises another question. The 3 >missing front teeth have been missing since I was 12 years old. I was >under the impression that jaw bone gradually thins and/or dissolves if >there are no roots/implants in it to keep it active. How is it >possible to put 3 implants in a jawbone that has not been utilized at >all for 45 years? Good point. Only a dentist who has seen you in person can determine this. The grafting materials available today are much better than in the past. (Am sure that you are well aware of this) If you could send/post some pictures and/or x-rays it may help us to determine an answer. Am leaning toward cutting the bridge rather than tapping it off. Much depends on the root structure of the remaining teeth whether a new bridge can be constructed. -- W_B Take out the G'RBAGE wubbabubbazG@RBAGEyahoo.com > How is it > possible to put 3 implants in a jawbone that has not been utilized at > all for 45 years? Grafting Signature/ Amatus / > Thank you for your candid advice. It raises another question. The 3 > missing front teeth have been missing since I was 12 years old. I was > under the impression that jaw bone gradually thins and/or dissolves if > there are no roots/implants in it to keep it active. How is it > possible to put 3 implants in a jawbone that has not been utilized at > all for 45 years? > I have a top front bridge spanning from eye tooth to eye tooth - 6 > teeth, with 1 anchor tooth on the right side and two anchor teeth on [quoted text clipped - 34 lines] > I appreciate any advice and/or experiences this group has to offer. > Thanks. There is no way to definitively answer this without looking at the bridge. I can only say that I have frequently removed and recemented bridges if they are sound and the teeth in good shape. In fact, I just did this on a long span bridge I first inserted for a patient 18 years ago. I wished her another 18 years with it. If the lateral incisor is severely weakened it may in fact break. However, usually if it does in this situation, and the bridge is removed straight out, it will break in such a way that it may be re-crowned. So if the bridge is cosmetically and structurally OK, and if the teeth are periodontally OK, and there is no decay, and there hasn't been so much shrinkage of tissue under the false teeth that you get a lot of food caught underneath, I see little downside to attempting to tap the bridge off. If this were coming off every few months I'd feel very different. Steve SignatureMark & Steven Bornfeld DDS http://www.dentaltwins.com Brooklyn, NY 718-258-5001 Thank you, Dr. Bornfeld - what you've said is quite encouraging. I think I will have my dentist try to remove and reglue my bridge. If the tooth breaks, we'll have to deal with it but at least we will have tried to salvage this bridge. This is the first time in 12 years the bridge has come loose and the teeth are cosmetically pleasing, bridge is not structurally damaged in any way at this point and I don't have any problem with food getting caught. Thanks to all who offered me advice. I appreciate all of the information provided. Thanks again. > There is no way to definitively answer this without looking at the > bridge. I can only say that I have frequently removed and recemented [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > Brooklyn, NY > 718-258-5001 |
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