How to Make Your Temporary Bridge Successful
An esthetic and functional temporary bridge will set you up for success later on when placing the final restoration. In our haste to impress patients with efficiency and a superb outcome, we can easily overlook the nuances and critical techniques involved in the interim step of temporary fabrication.
Fabricating a Successful Temporary Bridge
It’s arguable that the temporary bridge is even more important than the final. Why is that? Well, consider how important first impressions are in all aspects of life.
How the temporary bridge feels in the patient’s mouth, how significantly it improves their smile esthetics, and how well it protects them against poor oral hygiene will influence their expectations of later dental work.
An unhappy patient is much harder to win over than one who is already completely satisfied with their temporary bridge. The latter will also be more likely to trust you if any issues occur or challenges present themselves. Clearly, while the lab is fabricating the final bridge, you had better pay close attention to temporary technique!
My advice for a gorgeous and comfortable temporary bridge is four-fold. First, the bridge should touch adjacent teeth. This ensures the prepped and adjacent teeth don’t move. Second, once you’ve secured that first aspect, the temporary should be in proper occlusion but not too heavy. If you make the occlusion light on the pontic, you’ll have a much easier time overall and not have to worry about fracturing.
Third, don’t make the contacts too small and the embrasures too big between the pontic and the abutment. If you do, the pontic might break, leaving you with an unhappy patient. Finally, shape the pontic against the tissue to prevent food impaction and more closely adhere to natural tooth esthetics.
Do you have pearls of wisdom regarding temporaries? We’d love to hear from you in the comments!
