What is a Maryland bridge? - Tooronga Family Dentistry in Glen Iris

A bridge, is needed when one or more teeth are missing. In order to have a bridge there is a need to sacrifice much of the neighboring teeth to make room for it. But at the University of Maryland, a different design was made, where instead of cutting much of the adjacent teeth, the bridge can be secured with “wings” that are cemented to the adjacent teeth. A Maryland bridge has the great advantage that, only very little tooth material is needs to be removed, but there are 2 problems as well.

The first problem is created by the metal framework needed for the bridge. It can lead to a change in the translucency of the teeth supporting the bridge. The outcome is that those teeth seem to darken slightly, and they will no longer match the color of the other front teeth. When I make a Maryland bridge the dental technician takes these changes into account or we can make a bridge, to prevent this phenomenon or we plan for a bridge that does not have the metal framework called an “Encore bridge”.

The second problem is that the connection between the bridge and teeth may weaken over time, leading to the need to have the Maryland bridge re-cemented.

If you would like to know more about the options to have a missing tooth or teeth replaced, please call Tooronga Family Dentistry, Phone number 98227006.