Maryland Bridge and Dental Implants
Posted by writeradmin
My daughter (Twelve years old) has a congenitally missing tooth. We have finished her orthodontics and plan on placing a dental implant to give her a permanent replacement. But her jawbone isn’t developed enough yet. She needs a temporary replacement. Her pediatric dentist suggested a Maryland Bridge, but it keeps falling off. She has tried replacing the bonding two different times, but that isn’t working. The wings they’re using now are the ceramic wings. Her next suggestion is to use metal wings. I’m worried that will stain her teeth. I’m also not convinced that will work any more than the ceramic ones. What do you think?
Sarah
Dear Sarah,
I am sure that your dentist has the best of intentions and she is obviously trying to find a solution, however, she is a bit in over her head here. You can’t just bond the wings of a Maryland Bridge to a tooth. It won’t stay, which is what has been happening to your daughter.
There has to be a notch, such as in the image above, to aid the bridge to stay. The thing about that is if you have to change the structure of a tooth, it is no longer a temporary replacement. Once she is old enough to have the dental implant placed and you remove the Maryland Bridge, her adjacent teeth will now have those notches in them and they’ll have to be filled in with composite bonding of some kind.
The better solution would be to get a true temporary tooth replacement. My suggestion is for you to get her a dental flipper. These clip onto her teeth. No need to bond. No need to notch anything. It’s very temporary. It is even less expensive than what you’re currently doing.
The one great thing is that you chose a dental implant for her permanent replacement. This is the best option for her teeth, so you chose very well.
A pediatric dentist is great at treating children. But, your daughter is twelve and her dental needs are turning into the same dental needs of an adult. There are general dentists who are comfortable treating children. I would look for one of those for your daughter at this point in her development.
This blog is brought to you by a gentle dentist in Mt. Dora, Dr. Michelle Stillman.