Maryland Bridge- HELP ASAP!!!

Question

I know I posted this once already but I really need advice. I am scheduled to get a Maryland Bridge on monday and have heard alot of bad stories but a few good ones. The bridge will be made of 2 teeth which I am missing in the front of my mouth. Has anyone ever had a maryland bridge? any advice? And implants aren't an option financially. Also can you still wear a Hawley retainer with this type of bridge??

Answer 1

You might have to get a new retainer.

Ok, from personal experience Maryland bridges aren't taught in dental schools anymore.  NOT because they're bad bridges.  If it's done correctly, they can look really really good.  In fact, at NYU the teacher/faculty member that teaches us on dental materials created/designed the Maryland bridge.

The problem are the wings that are bonded to the adjacent teeth.  The contact between the wings and teeth have to be near perfect to get ideal retention.  So in other words, margin of error is really small.

Why not get a bridge that covers the entire abutment teeth instead of just the back side of the abutment teeth?

Answer 2

A Maryland Bridge replaces missing teeth by bonding metal wings to the insides of adjacent teeth.  The nicest thing about this type is that minimal or no reduction of tooth structure is done.  Esthetically that are about a 6 on a scale of 1 to 10.  In my experience they are more prone to become loose and have to be re cemented than conventional bridgework. However they are better than a removable partial and of course less expensive than conventional bridgework or implants.  I have been in dental practice for 42 years.