Alabama Dentist - Correcting a Missing Front Tooth with a Bridge

Kimberly had an existing Encore bridge replacing her front tooth #8 that was done by Dr. Beasley previously. However, both she and Dr. Beasley were unhappy with how the single porcelain pontic (the part of the porcelain bridge that replaces the missing tooth) didn’t match the adjacent natural teeth in different types of lighting situations. Also, the pontic tooth never looked like it really erupted out of the tissue as a natural tooth would. The Encore bridge widths were also in less than ideal proportions.

To address the bony defect, Huntsville periodontist Dr. Paul Weeks was consulted. He performed ridge augmentation using connective tissue grafts in the # 8 area missing tooth area. This surgery was successful in rebuilding the same bony width and height proportions to match that of the bone supporting the adjacent tooth # 9. After an adequate healing time of approximately 12 weeks the restorative phase was ready to proceed.

Dr. Beasley used a diode laser to sculpt the # 8 augmented area which helps to give the illusion of the pontic actually erupting from the tissue much like a natural tooth does. Next, a temporary bridge was designed to train the tissue to accept the ovate pontic. The temporary bridge was evaluated by Dr. Beasley and Kimberly for proper aesthetics, phonetics, function, and comfort.

All together, teeth # 7 through 10 were restored. Teeth # 7 through 10 were restored with an Authentic-to-metal bridge with metal reinforcement on the lingual surface only and # 10 with an Authentic porcelain veneer. Both were created by master ceramist Mr. Kreig Degraff of D & M Dental Arts of Merced, California. Cosmetic dentistry and smile design performed by Dr. R. Brad Beasley.