Dental Clinic Near Seoul National University Entrance Station: Bridge Restoration Case After Extraction of Retained Deciduous Tooth Due to Congenital Missing Permanent Tooth

At Remembers Dental Clinic near Seoul National University Entrance Station,

this is Director Park Jeong-gi.

A retained deciduous tooth means

a baby tooth that remains in the oral cavity

after the normal time for replacement has passed.

In general, from around age 6 to 12,

they are shed one by one and replaced by permanent teeth,

but

for various reasons,

they sometimes remain even into adulthood.

The main causes include

congenital absence of permanent teeth, impaction and abnormal position,

failure of root resorption in deciduous teeth,

and damage to the tooth germ caused by trauma.

Among these, the most common case is when a permanent tooth

is congenitally absent from birth.

In this case, since there is no successor permanent tooth,

the deciduous tooth has no choice but to remain in place.

Also, this type of late retention

tends to occur most frequently in the premolar area,

and the absence of the mandibular second premolar

is said to be the most common.

In actual practice at the dental clinic near Seoul National University Entrance Station,

there are quite a few patients like this,

so at times like this we explain things in detail

while looking at the panoramic image.

Let’s take a look at the related case.

2025.06.12

In the case prepared today at the dental clinic near Seoul National University Entrance Station

to help with understanding,

there was a retained deciduous tooth

in the left mandibular area.

Compared to permanent teeth, deciduous teeth have

thinner enamel and dentin,

and a larger pulp chamber, making them more vulnerable to caries,

and because their roots are shorter,

they have lower resistance to chewing forces.

In addition, with long-term use,

they can show significant wear.

In this case as well, it had been used carefully and well for quite a long time,

but now there was some mobility,

after which it started to shake.

Does it need to be extracted?

The decision to extract is made by comprehensively considering

the condition of the tooth,

the patient’s age,

the occlusion,

and the condition of adjacent teeth.

✔ If preservation is difficult due to severe caries or periodontal disease,

✔ if it causes occlusal disharmony,

✔ or if space needs to be secured for prosthetic restoration,

extraction is considered.

2025.06.12

In this case, there was already significant mobility,

and no tooth germ of a permanent tooth was visible,

so we decided to place an implant in this area.

However, because the space was somewhat narrow for placing a crown,

and we considered that the size of the prosthesis might feel small,

after 충분한 대화 with the patient,

we planned to restore with a bridge from the lateral incisor to the first premolar.

How was the bridge restoration performed?

The deciduous tooth was carefully extracted,

and a bridge was fabricated using the teeth on both sides as abutment teeth.

2025.06.20

After evaluating various conditions such as

the periodontal condition of the abutment teeth,

their root length,

and whether there was pulp infection,

we judged that it could be used sufficiently for a long time

when restored with a bridge,

so we placed the prosthesis.

Of course, at the dental clinic near Seoul National University Entrance Station,

it is important to carefully prepare only the minimum amount of tooth structure

needed before placing the prosthesis,

so we carried out the prep process delicately.

What are the advantages of bridge restoration?

This is the completed prosthetic restoration at the dental clinic near Seoul National University Entrance Station.

2025.06.20

After extraction,

on the first day we made a temporary tooth in that space,

and once the prosthesis was made about a week later,

immediate restoration became possible,

so it could be fabricated and fitted in a relatively short time,

allowing the patient to immediately recover chewing function and speech function.

In addition, because zirconia material was used,

it has an appearance very similar to natural teeth,

so its aesthetics are excellent and patient satisfaction is high.

Especially in the anterior area, as in today’s case near Seoul National University Entrance Station,

such aesthetics are even more important.

A bridge is a treatment method that has been proven over a long period,

before implants became widely used,

and if performed under proper diagnosis and treatment planning,

it shows predictable and stable results.

It is also relatively less expensive than implant treatment,

and the treatment period is shorter, which are major advantages.

In addition, it does not require bone grafting

or complex surgical procedures,

so it can reduce the patient’s burden.

Today, at the dental clinic near Seoul National University Entrance Station,

we explained quite a lot of medical information.

2025.06.12 ~ 2025.06.20

If you still have a childhood tooth remaining

even though growth has ended,

it is important to make sure to take a panoramic X-ray

and check it out,

and if extraction has been diagnosed,

please carefully consider and choose

which method to select between an implant and a bridge.

Thank you for reading.

This was Director Park Jeong-gi of the dental clinic near Seoul National University Entrance Station.

Treatment period: 2025.06.12 ~ 2025.06.20