Hi Kitt,
So sorry to hear that your teeth were pulled instead of doing braces! There is nothing you can do about that now and that may have been the only option available to your parents at that time. The bridge that you have for about 47 years has certainly exceeded the normal longevity of most dental bridgework. Generally, dental bridges are replaced around 15-20 years old. The cement that holds the anchor crowns on eventually wears out and this allows bacteria to get in underneath the crowns. It would be wise to periodically have your bridge checked for mobility and radiographs taken to check the health of those anchor teeth.
Anytime a tooth is going to have a crown, the tooth is ground down to a small size. Some dentists still grind the tooth to a pointy stub and others are more conservative with the preparation of the tooth. The more tooth structure removed, the more likely to injure the nerve and cause the tooth to die. But in your case, you may be one of the fortunate ones!!
If you had to have that bridge replaced and the anchor teeth were still healthy, then only minimal tooth preparation would be done mostly around the gumline and a new bridge would be fitted. If the anchor teeth were not healthy, then you may be given the option of root canal therapy or extraction. If you opted for the root canals and you ended up with a bad infection in one or both of those anchor teeth, then a whole new bridge would have to be redone again after the tooth/teeth were extracted. So if that incident ever occurs, you may want to weigh out all of your treatment options so you can make the best long term decision for yourself.
Yes, the palate is the roof of the mouth and it's good that yours is not flat should you ever need to wear a denture or partial denture!
Bryanna
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kitt
Hi Bryanna. I guess I should explain a bit. My potential problem at some point is this. 47 years ago my four front teeth were pulled and then a temporary denture was put in and hooked, if that's the word, to the eye teeth. That was worn for I believe about 3 months and then a bridge was put in and the eye teeth were capped and that's how the bridge is anchored. At that time, the eye teeth were ground down to points I do believe. They probably don't do that now.
At any rate, I suspect at sometime in my life the bridge will break down or whatever and I will need some teeth. I do not plan at all to have implants so then it would be false teeth. And, I suspect we would be talking about the front four teeth plus the eye teeth as I am certain they would be ruined. And boy are caps, bridges, etc. expensive now. Can't believe it but guess it's all relative.
The palate you talk about is the roof of the mouth? Mine is by no means flat. So then I guess there would be some suction there, correct? I still have all my teeth less wisdom teeth and one back molar on the bottom. Hopefully, I will retain most of them.
It was so ridiculous for me to lose my front teeth way back then. I say that because they were perfectly healthy - no cavities - and it was done instead of getting braces. How I regret that as I now know what can happen. But, I was young and talked into it by my parents. Wish that could be done over again but of course it cannot  I have a small mouth if that means anything.
I have always heard that bottom dentures pretty much move around. My husband has that now with only two teeth left on the bottom. But adhesive is doing a pretty good job and the lining the denture man did. Tomorrow he gets a new one so we'll see how that goes. At some point, he will lose the other two lower teeth and so will have a full lower denture. But whatever works, works 
You explained things very well and I really do appreciate it. I hope you can follow where I'm coming from as well. Thank you so very much for your help  |
05-14-2008, 09:22 PM
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