Long Span Bridge

Long span bridges are difficult to manage. The supporting teeth must be prepared in perfect alignment in order for the bridge to fit properly.

The technician's challenge is to fabricate this huge complex of porcelain and metal without distortion.

In this case, the 2 mains issues are the patient's resorbed ridge and budget problems. It should ideally be treated with augmentation surgery and zirconia bridge. She's settling for PFM bridge, short pink porcelain flange and no surgery.

The patient is missing 4 incisors in front and one premolar on the right side. She wore a denture which looked awfully short because it kept sinking into her somewhat deficient front. Bone and soft tissue grafting was suggested, but the patient did not want surgery.

The compromise would be to add some pink porcelain to the front part. It makes the bridge more difficult to clean but it props up the front part a little.

Here's the bridge in the mouth. As mentioned earlier, the pink flange is not ideal. Surgery would have produced better results. Still, the margin between porcelain and gum is visible only when her lip is lifted.

Given our limitations, the bridge fits reasonably well. A zirconia bridge would have been easier to fit and might look a little more natural, but in spite of the compromises, this bridge turned out looking pretty natural with good colour match.