Dental Bridge (Repair)

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This is a kind of unusual question but it is something that is very important to me and I thought someone might help. -I have a bridge for my upper teeth. It is actually 2 bridges. One of the bridges has 4 teeth. 4 or 5 years ago, I was in a restaurant (Dennys in Houston in anyone's interested) and I bit down on a tooth- pick and the enamel broke on one tooth. All that was left was a black part of the bridge. Two days later, the same thing happened to another tooth. If I smile and show my teeth, it looks like I have 2 black teeth. The rest of the teeth in the bridge have stayed OK. -I went to an HMO dentist and he tried to glue something on the teeth. It cost me $40 and it came off in the car on the way home. -The dentists tell me that they can't take the bridge out because the teeth to which it is fastened will break off if they apply pressure to the bridge, trying to get it out so they can fix it. -I've contact several dentists who say that they think there are dentists who could fix it (right) while it is in my mouth but no one knows of such a person. -I can't believe that someone couldn't either fix it while it or make some kind of false tooth that would fit over it (or something). I would accept almost anything that would just hide the 2 black teeth. Any information or advice would be appreciated. (If you're a lawyer, don't contact me. I don't want to sue Dennys, just get the thing fixed or false teeth made or just anything.) I've got used to keeping my mouth closed when I smile but still am not happy. Thank s in advance. Eagle

-- eagle (eagle @alpha1.net), February 01, 2001

Answers

Response to Dental Bridge

I ought to be an expert on this. Ah if only I had all the money that has gone into my mouth....I could buy the ultimate homestead! Well first of all it kind of depends on the type of bridge you have. I recently had a bridge removed...good thing I was having the teeth next to the bridge pulled. The teeth to either side of it broke when the bridge was removed. I had checked into having the bridge replaced several years ago as it was the wrong color. I was told that the method they use to attach the bridge weakens the teeth to either side so much that it isn't possible to remove the bridge without damage and if you could remove it there wouldn't be enough of the teeth left to reattach a new bridge to. Would seem like it could be repaired. I've had several caps and I would think the same thing could be done with your bridge. Contact a dentist that specializes in cosmetic dentistry...the ones that advertise for teeth whitening and such. Possibly a dentist that does a lot of dentures could help you. Hope you can get em fixed.

-- Amanda in Mo (aseley@townsqr.com), February 01, 2001.

Response to Dental Bridge

I would think the denture specialist would be a very good idea. They fix dentures, why not bridges?? I also have a fortune in my teeth with caps and crowns and they sure did it all without taking them out of my mouth!!!

-- diane (gardiacaprines@yahoo.com), February 02, 2001.

Response to Dental Bridge

Eagle: Heres one question I know something about! Been making crowns and bridges for 30 years till I retired. If the bridge was made less than 5 years ago the original dentist will probably re-make for free. If the porcelain separated completely from the metal then it was a faulty constructed job and the dentist should do it over. There is a chemical bond between the porc and metal and when made right you can't break that bond with a hammer let alone a toothpick. The bridges are cemented in permanently so they can't get it out without destroying the bridge.

-- Kirk Davis (kirkay@yahoo.com), February 02, 2001.

Response to Dental Bridge

Eagle: It gets really complex but ask you dentist about having a crown made that will slide over the black metal portion. That could work. Probably the best solution is to remove the old bridges and ask for a removable partial. It isn't as expensive as fixed bridges and they can always be repaired because they are made to be taken in and out of your mouth. Sorry Eagle no easy fix! Good Luck!....Kirk

-- Kirk Davis (Kirkay@yahoo.com), February 02, 2001.

Response to Dental Bridge

Thanks the responses. The problem is this. "They" can't work on the bridges without removing them. Moreover the teeth that the bridge are "glued to" are weak and would break off if they tried to remove the bridge. I'd really like to find someone who could just make a crown to slip over it or something like false teeth that I could just use dental cream every time I put it in. I don't know who made the bridge. My HMO dentist who has moved away to another job now, told me that they were unhappy with whoever made this bridge and were not using him any more. As Richie Cunningham said in "Happy Days". "Oh Well, life goes on." Thanks again for the responses. Eagle

-- eagle (eagle@alpha1.net), February 02, 2001.


How about some NEW PLASTIC TEETH ! XXXXXXXXXX Sexton's clinic in Florence, SC... Dr. Hickman is tops... Just a thought. Good luck.

-- Action Dude (theactiondude@yahoo.com), February 02, 2001.

Action Dude, Thanks for the tip.

-- Toothless (in@rizona.com), February 02, 2001.

Way back in 1987 i had a bridge put in on the left lower side, molars. the dentist did a fairly decent job. At the time i was working for a agency that served the mentally retarded and as part of our benefits we got free dental care form the company dentist. Well.... a few yrs later I was sitting in Burger King and waiting for my father in-laws palne to land. i wa senjoying one of their salads when my bridge fell out. Oh my gosh.... I panicked. And i thought it wa something in my salad so i threw out the salad. Well... it wa sback to the garbage can, found the little thing too. I immedialtely washed it and then the next morning went to another dentist who steralized it and fixed it with a glue like super glue. See the first dentist glued it to my gums and the bridge teeth. Well that lasted for almost 10 years.

2 yrs ago at thanksgiving i wa sexperiencing terrible toothaches in my lower jaw. Went to the dentist. I am now in another state miles away. He looked at it and discovered the bridge teeth had decayed as did some of my crowns. Nobody told me that those root canals and crowns are good for only so many years. i had to have all the teeth removed, the bridge teeth and the 2 other teeth on the other side that were crowns. Oh well... at least I wasn't gumming thisngs to death. I found that I will now need to have a partial palte in the area that once had the bridge. i hope you have better luck than I. Hmmmmmm... new plastic teeth? Need to check that out.

-- Bernice (geminigoats@yahoo.com), February 03, 2001.


I got the name & address of the dentist who does plastic teeth from Action Dude. I'm going to contact him (the dentist) right away. Will do a post on how it works out. Looks like more people than I might benefit. You know, over the past coupld of years, I've really got a lot of answers on Countryside, on stuff that really has helped me. This is a really helpful forum. Eagle

-- eagle (eagle@alpha1.net), February 04, 2001.

I was scanning through the posts and this one caught my eye-I have been a dental assistant for 16 years and I have seen a lot of things. I can tell you that your situation is pretty tough, but there are better materials available nowadays to bond to bridges- the question is -does anyone in your area have it and would they be willing to use it. The material is very expensive, and sits in the fridge forever, only to get used on rare occasions. But, if I were in your situation I would sure like to try to have the bridge rebonded- I wouldn't jump into getting any teeth out- that can cause a whole new batch of problems. I have heard many people say that they would pay any price to have their own teeth back- having a removable appliance of any sort can be a real pain-literally! One material I know about is called Goldlink- the bridge is etched, a special bonding agent (Clearfil is one type of bond) is placed on the bridge and then light cured filling is applied to the bridge. This is the same material that is used for tooth colored fillings. If you could find someone to do this for you they should also carefully check your bite to make sure you are not hitting harder on the repaired areas,the repair will pop off in no time if you hit it too hard. They can adjust it so that you hit harder on the other teeth. One other suggestion you might not want to hear but hopefully consider is find a dentist you like and trust and stay clear of HMO dentists! Unfortunately, I never hear any good stories coming out of those places and even though it seems expensive, it is well worth it to pay out of pocket. Going regularly for checkups and maitenence is so important-especially with your bridges- I know that was a big investment initially. I always tell patients before they get any bridgework done that they still have to get the teeth cleaned and checked in fact it's even more important! I think if you could establish a good relationship with a good dentist, they might go the extra mile to help you out with this repair-the HMO dentist's focus is on $ not on quality, in fact their main objective is not to treat anything, they get paid if your on their list every month whether you come in or not-so anything they do costs them. Ok well, now you probably know more than you wanted to know about dentistry, but anyway good luck with whatever you decide to do, and if you do decide to try to find a good dentist the best way is by word of mouth ask everybody you know, you'll probably hear one or two names that come up often try those! Hang in there!

Joy

-- Joy (JNews1223@hotmail.com), February 04, 2001.



I'd like to agree with some of the previous posts. I've had extensive dental work over the years...caps, bridges, root canals, etc. Almost always this is where I've had the worst decay afterwards. After having babies my teeth took a turn for the worst. The babies sucked all the calcium out of my teeth. I now have dentures on top and probably need them on bottom. Now that the procedure is through and I have my 'new' teeth they work well but I wouldn't wish having that many teeth pulled at once on anyone. Of course I did have to have most of them surgically removed so that probably made it a lot worse.

-- Amanda in Mo (aseley@townsqr.com), February 05, 2001.

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