Maryland Bridge as a Temorary Restoration

My daughter will be getting a dental implant when her jaw is fully developed for a congenitally missing tooth. To give her a temporary tooth, our dentist made a Maryland Bridge for her. Unfortunately, it keeps falling off. Our dentist tried two different types of cement, but nothing is working. We did use the tooth colored wings for it and now she’s thinking we may need to go with the metal wings. Will that show through her teeth? Will it damage the teeth? I’m kind of at a loss here for what to do.

Penny

Dear Penny,

One of the things you are battling here is a dentist who does not understand the engineering principles behind a Maryland Bridge. My guess is that she did not prepare the adjacent teeth correctly.

As you can see from the image to the left here that, with a Maryland Bridge, a tooth needs to have preparation done in order to retain the bridge. Because of this, I would not consider a Maryland Bridge a temporary tooth replacement. Anything that permanently changes your tooth structure is not temporary.

You also asked if the metal would show through the teeth. Unfortunately, yes, there will be some shading there. So, here is my advice. You have made a great choice in choosing to get her a dental implant once her jaw is developed. I am going under the assumption that you have already done the orthodontics in order to open up the area so it is ready for a full-sized implant. If you have not done that, your dentist jumped the gun. In that case, I would do Invisalign or Clear Correct. Once the space is opened up, you are ready for the temporary replacement.

For situations like this, I recommend a dental flipper. It is inexpensive, easy to maintain, and will serve her well until it is time to get the implant placement. Get a refund on the Maryland Bridge and get the flipper. You’ll be saving a lot of money as well.

This blog is brought to you by Libertyville Dentist Dr. David Potts.