A Six-Unit Anterior Bridge: Provisionals and Placement

By: Lee Ann Brady DMD
Topic originally appeared on Pankey.org: Dr. Brady allowed permission for igniteDDS to share with our readers

My patient wasn’t satisfied with the aesthetics and feel of her previous restoration. Detailed planning enabled me to deliver a beautiful, functional result.

Here is the conclusion of this case and the placement of the new six-unit anterior bridge.

Provisional Cementation Prior To Ortho

After the treatment planning was completed, I removed the patient’s existing anterior bridge and replaced it with a bisacryl provisional derived from the orthodontic wax-up.

I sectioned it specifically to enable tooth movement while I restored the pontic sites. This meant sectioning between the maxillary central, the upper left lateral and central, and the upper right canine and lateral.

I then cemented the provisional with Rely-X luting cement. Doing so decreased displacement secondary to the orthodontic forces.

Next, the patient went through orthodontic therapy over three months.

Following this, she was ready for periodontal surgery. Crown lengthening was done on the upper right canine, in addition to placing connective tissue grafts in the pontic sites. This ensured ovate pontics could develop.

Occlusal Equilibration & Placement of Porcelain Bridge

Equilibration was the natural next step. It was used to achieve the necessary anterior guidance with posterior disclusion, as well as freedom in the anterior and no centric occlusion slide to the maximum intercuspal position.

I prepped off the orthodontic provisional and refined the preparation. For the margin design, I went with a shoulder and rounded internal line. This could accommodate the all-porcelain restorations.

We weren’t worried about the reduction of 1.5 mm because of the original tooth reduction, but we did go forward with the placement of a third plane of reduction. This was necessary for the final incisal edge placement in an AP dimension.

Venus from Hereaus was used to create the six-unit provisional from upper right to upper left canine. This also allowed tissue development to occur in the pontic sites.

After taking final impressions three months later, the six-unit bridge was made using E.max. I placed the patient’s direct composite veneers on the upper first molars and bicuspids. Shade matching to the anterior bridge was one advantage of this approach. Also, the patient could choose to move to porcelain at some point in the future.

My patient was finally happy with her smile. All in all, it took dedicated teamwork between myself, the ceramist, the orthodontist, and the periodontist to exceed her expectations. 

The successful restoration of a patient’s smile underscores the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration and comprehensive treatment planning. If you’re looking to master these advanced restorative techniques, I highly recommend exploring the comprehensive courses offered at The Pankey Institute. Their advanced education and hands-on courses will equip you with the skills needed to exceed patient expectations.

Visit The Pankey Institute to learn more and take the next step toward clinical excellence.

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