Fiber-reinforced Bridge…do you know what that is?🤔
When you lost a tooth or teeth, you have a few options to replace it: denture, bridge, implant, braces or more.
She first came in with loose denture replacing her two front teeth. Denture is a good replacement option for missing teeth but with time, it tend to become loosen due to bone resorption (“bone thinning”). Loose denture can be troublesome as it falls out easily (no one wants their teeth falling out during a presentation!😱) and food often get stuck underneath it.
If you ask me, implant is the best option to replace this patient’s missing teeth. However, implants (and not forgetting bone graft) placement can be costly and she is not financially ready for it. Having the option for a new denture or a fiber-reinforced bridge, she decided to choose the latter whilst preparing for her implant budget.
The challenge in this case is the total buildup of the tooth with composite, estimating it’s size/shape/shade and not forgetting occlusion. This is a non-prep case as the patient is biting rather incisally on the anteriors while having good posterior occlusion(thus made her a good candidate for this long span FRB case).
Most of it has to be done chair-side, thus a lot of clinical time has been spent. Note that the 11,21 are shortened as well although I would LOVE to give her a perfect smile arch, due to concerns of her anterior guidance.
Patient was super happy she has semi-permanent teeth inside her mouth and don’t have to worry about her denture falling out anymore. (We both still look forward to the day implants can be placed tho!🙈)
Case selection is important in FRB treatment. It is not for patients who want an easy way out, but for patients who clearly understand ALL the pros and cons of their treatment options and are willing to accept the worst-case scenario.
Okay that’s all, I know I talk a lot but I just wanted to share some of the stuff I’ve learned through this case. 😆 Have a great day y’all!
