Broken Front Tooth Bridge: If It’s in This Condition, Do Not Get a Bridge Again.

Broken front tooth bridge: if it’s in this condition, do not get a bridge again.

Hello.

This is the director of Seoul Bardi Dental Clinic.

"I couldn’t even use it for a few years,

and my front tooth bridge broke...

Can it be done again?"

When a front tooth restoration that has been working well suddenly breaks with a "snap,"

it is bound to be really shocking.

Patients often come in carrying the broken restoration,

asking with anxious feelings whether a new one can be remade.

Unfortunately, not every case can be remade.

In fact, if a restoration is forced to be placed again,

there are many cases where the patient ends up suffering even more after a short time.

Today, I’ll explain the fundamental reason front tooth bridges break,

and in situations where remaking is difficult,

what treatment can be an alternative,

through a real case.

1. A bridge that looked sturdy — why does it break? Broken front tooth bridge: if it’s in this condition, do not get a bridge again.

A bridge is, quite literally, a restoration that connects teeth like a "bridge" between them.

The abutment teeth on both sides share the load,

including the missing tooth in the middle.

So why does it break over time?

The biggest reason is excessive load.

When the force from the entire connected restoration is stronger than what the root of the supporting tooth can withstand,

ultimately the abutment breaks,

or inflammation develops at the root tip.

A restoration broken by excessive load

In particular, front teeth are used to bite off food, so they receive a lot of horizontal force.

If the number of abutment teeth is insufficient or their condition is weak, there is no choice but for the bridge’s lifespan to become shorter.

2. A case of a broken front tooth bridge, solved with implants Broken front tooth bridge: if it’s in this condition, do not get a bridge again.

"The bridge that’s been in place for three years broke... Can it be done again?" Broken front tooth bridge

This is a case of a patient who visited our clinic recently.

The front tooth bridge, which had been done at another clinic three years earlier, broke completely, and the patient came to us.

When we examined the mouth...

the two teeth supporting the bridge (#12, #22) had broken completely inside the gums,

leaving only the roots barely in place.

"Since the roots are still there,

can’t we save them and use them again?"

I fully understand the patient’s wish to preserve and use their natural teeth.

But just as a building won’t collapse if its pillars are strong, restorations are the same.

There were only two roots left,

and these two weakened pillars had to bear all the enormous load from the five teeth (#12, 11, 21, 22, 23).

Realistically, there was a limit to how much they could withstand.

Simply put...

if you think of it as a structure whose legs are too flimsy for its body, it may be easier to understand.

Even if we forced it to be remade, the risk of it breaking again soon was very high.

For the patient’s long-term dental health,

after careful consideration, we recommended extraction followed by implant treatment.

"If I get implants,

do I also need bone grafting?

People around me seemed to have all needed bone grafting..." Broken front tooth bridge

During consultations, there are really many people who say that they are afraid of implants because they require bone grafting.

But that is not always the case.

We carefully evaluate each patient’s exact condition using a 3D CT scan.

We explain in detail while looking at the screen together whether bone grafting is truly necessary in that area, or whether the remaining bone alone is sufficient.

That way, patients can proceed with confidence without vague fear.

In this patient’s case as well, after analyzing the CT, fortunately the bone width was sufficiently thick, around 5 mm to 7 mm.

If the bone width is sufficient, there is no need to do bone grafting unnecessarily.^^

If the bone is too thin, implant placement becomes difficult, so bone grafting to increase the bone width is essential,

but this patient had healthy bone, so we placed a total of three implants in the correct positions without any additional bone grafting.

Treatment result Broken front tooth bridge: if it’s in this condition, do not get a bridge again.

The implanted implant posts needed time for the "osseointegration" process, where they become completely united with the bone.

We waited about five months after implant placement.

After that, once we confirmed they were firmly fixed, we took impressions with a precision scanner and made the final zirconia restoration.

In particular, the patient said that when using the previous restoration, the front teeth looked unusually protruded,

so we carefully considered that point and focused on creating a precise restoration.

Thanks to that, not only was the alignment of the teeth improved, but the lips also appeared to sit slightly farther inward than before,

so the overall impression was much softer and improved.

Functional recovery and esthetic improvement were both completed naturally, so this was a case that both the patient and I were very satisfied with.^^

Are you worried because your front tooth bridge has broken?

Unfortunately, a bridge that is forcibly reconnected can later return as greater pain and cost.

Check whether your current tooth condition is at a stage where it can be saved again, or whether a stronger alternative is needed.

With the most honest and accurate diagnosis from the patient’s perspective, we will reduce concerns about overtreatment,

and work together to find the solution that can be used most durably.

Thank you.^^

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Broken front tooth bridge: if it’s in this condition, do not get a bridge again.

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02-481-4278

| This post was written directly by Seoul Bardi Dental Clinic for the purpose of providing medical information in compliance with Article 56, Paragraph 1 of the Medical Advertising Act. The information provided is for reference only, and for symptom assessment and accurate management methods, please visit a medical institution and receive guidance from medical professionals. All procedures/surgeries performed at the dental clinic may carry risks depending on the individual (such as inflammation, bleeding, swelling, etc.). Please make decisions after sufficient consultation with medical professionals in advance. The treatment cases in this post were photographed with the consent of actual patients who completed treatment at our clinic, and the before-and-after photos were taken under identical conditions. |