Bridges Flashcards
What are the function of bridges
restore aesthetics, function, speech and maintain dental health
How do bridges maintain dental health
by preventing overeruption/tilting of opposing/adjacent teeth
What is the benefit of a denture over a bridge
o Denture has the benefit that it replaces the lost soft tissue as well as the missing tooth, something which bridges can’t replace
What are general indications for a bridge
- Function and stability
- Appearance
- Speech
- Physiological reasons
- Systemic disease
- Cooperative patient
What systemic disease can be a strong indication for bridges over dentures
epileptics
risk of inhalation during seizures
Why must a patient be cooperative to be suitable for a bridge
Bridges require a lot of oral hygiene maintenance to ensure longevity
What are local indications for bridges
- Big teeth
- Heavily restored teeth (conventional)
- Favourable abutment angulations
- Favourable occlusion
What is meant by favourable occlusion in reference to indications for bridges
Don’t want a heavy occlusion
What are general contraindications for bridges
- uncooperative patient
- MH contraindications
- poor OH
- high caries rate
- periodontal disease
- large pulps
What sort of medical history could contra indicate a bridge
allergies to certain metals used in bridgework fabrication
Why can periodontal disease be a contraindication for bridgework
bone loss can impact abutment support
Why are large pulps a contraindication of conventional bridges
- Young patients have larger pulps so with conventional bridges there is a higher likelihood of pulp exposure resulting in a non vital tooth
What are local contraindications of bridgework
- High possibility of further tooth loss within arch
- Prognosis of abutment poor
- Length of span too great
- Ridge form and tissue loss
- Tilting and rotation of teeth
- Degree of restoration
- Periapical status
- Periodontal status (bone loss)
Why are long spans a contraindication for bridges
- Long bridges flex more when bitten on which increases likelihood of fracture
When taking the history for bridges, what sort of info are we looking for
establish any habits such as bruxism
What are we looking for in a clinical examination when planning bridges
- Want to look at occlusion
- Get radiographs & look at ABC (apices, bone levels, caries)
How do we want our study models articulated
- Want them mounted on a semi-adjustable articulator with a facebow registration
What are the patients options for provisional restorations for brdiges
- Consider an RPD
- If prep is in enamel, may not need a provisional
- If prep is into dentine and tooth becomes sensitive then cover with layer of DBA
Why do we want to fit the bridge asap after prepping/impressions
to prevent unwanted tooth movement
What are the two main types of retainer designs
- fixed fixed
- cantilever
- some other types that sit inbetween
What is a fixed-fixed bridge
- Retainer at each end with pontic in the middle held together by a rigid connector
Where are fixed-fixed bridges mainly used?
posterior
What is a cantilever bridge
- Retainer at one side of pontic only
Where are cantilever bridges generally used
anteriorly
Why are cantilever bridges generally used anteriorly
- Due to divergent guidance paths
- means that occlusal forces will be going in different directions resulting in the bridge being moved around, increasing the likelihood of it coming off
What is an abutment
- A tooth which serves as an attachment for a bridge
What is a pontic
- The artificial tooth which is suspended from the abutment teeth/tooth
What is a retainer
- The extracoronal or intracoronal restorations that are connected to the pontic and cemented to the prepared abutment teeth
What is a connector
- Component which connects the pontic to the retainer
What is the edentulous span
- Space between natural teeth that is to be filled by a bridge or partial denture
What is the saddle
- Area of the edentulous ridge over which the pontic will lie
What is a pier
- An abutment tooth which stands between and is supporting two pontics, each pontic being attached to a further abutment tooth
What is meant by unit
- Either a retainer or a pontic (total number)
What is resin bonded bridgework aka
- Same as resin retained bridgework/adhesive bridgework (has other names too but these are most common)
What is the most common bridge design
Resin bonded bridgeowrk
retainer made of metal (CoCr) with porcelain pontic
What are advantages of resin bonded bridgework
- Minimal preparation
- No LA needed
- Less costly
- Less surgery
- Can be used as provisional restoration
- If it fails then there hasn’t been much destruction to the tooth so not much has been lost
How do you get away with minimal prep for RBB’s in regards to the occlusion
dahl effect
bridge holds bite open
teeth come into contact
What are disadvantages of RBBs
- Rigorous clinical technique required
- Metal can shine through due to incisal translucency
- Chipping porcelain
- Can debond
- Occlusal interferences
- No trial period possible
Why does RBB requires such a rigorous technique
- use of composite cement (moisture control)
What is the problem with RBB debonding
- First bond is the best bond, so one can recement again but there is a high chance of it debonding again
When can occlusal interferences be an issue (after bridge fitted)
- If it is a static occlusal interference, this is not a huge issue due to the ‘dahl effect’ and should only be temporary
- If it is a dynamic occlusal interference, it will knock off the bridge with lateral forces
What are the indications for RBB
- Young teeth
- Good enamel quality
- Large abutment tooth surface area
- Minimal occlusal load
- Good for single tooth replacement e.g hypodontia
- Simplify partial denture design