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Dr. Hall,
Is it possible to have a Maryland bridge with two false teeth?
– Joe from Arizona
Joe,
Yes, two teeth is the maximum I would attach to one Maryland Bridge, but I would only do that in the lower front where the teeth are smaller.
You have two factors that cause added stress as you extend a bridge to multiple teeth. The first is rather obvious–you are adding to the amount of force borne by the bridge. You get twice as much vertical force on two teeth as you do on one.
The second is less obvious–you are allowing the bridge to flex more. As you apply force to the bridge, the longer the span the more it will be able to bend. That flexing puts a lot of stress on the abutments. When those abutments are crowns, you may be able to get away with covering a span of three teeth if you double-abut on one side. But when the abutment is just a plate bonded to the inside of a tooth, which is what you have with a Maryland Bridge, even a span of one normal-sized tooth can be chancy.
Dr. Hall
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About David A. Hall
Dr. David A. Hall was one of the first 40 accredited cosmetic dentists in the world. He practiced cosmetic dentistry in Iowa, and in 1990 earned his accreditation with the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. He is now president of Infinity Dental Web, a company in Mesa, Arizona that does advanced internet marketing for dentists.
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