Temporary Tooth Replacements Waiting on Dental Implant Procedure

Question submitted by Marie
My twelve year old daughter has a congenitally missing lateral incisor. We plan to replace it with a dental implant when she is old enough. In the meantime, we have completed her orthodontics in order to make sure the space is open when her jaw is developed enough. They’ve put a splint on there to keep it in place. My question is about the temporary tooth while we wait. Our family dentist opted for a Maryland Bridge. She used the non-metal wings and cemented them onto the adjacent teeth. Unfortunately, it’s fallen out several times. She then tried a stronger cement, but that didn’t help either. Now she’s talking about using metal wings for the bridge. My concerns about this are whether that would show through her teeth and whether it will affix any better than the non-metal. We’ve been going through a lot with this and she’s had some horrible experiences with it falling out during school. You know how mean kids can be.

Marie

Dear Marie,

I’m not keen on the plan your dentist has chosen here, and am glad you wrote before your daughter is put through any more. First, a Maryland Bridge would not be something I would consider for a temporary tooth replacement. This is because in order for it to be properly affixed, there needs to be a groove cut into the adjacent tooth structures. That means once she’s ready for her dental implant and the Maryland Bridge is removed, you’ll have to have some dental bonding done to repair the damage done to the tooth with the grooves. It could be that your dentist has not made that groove and that is why the Bridge keeps falling off.

Getting the metal wings has the same problem. You have to change the tooth structure for it to work. Plus, metal is actually harder to keep bonded on. Second, the metal will cause some cosmetic issues to her adjacent teeth by darkening them. This is why most dentists are using the zirconia versions.

There is a much better solution for your daughter’s temporary tooth. It’s not only less invasive, it is less expensive too. I would suggest you get a dental flipper. This will require no change to her tooth structure.

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