Teeth supporting dental bridges often develop recurrent caries requiring extractions. In such cases, the bridge is either sectioned or removed completely to allow extraction of the carious teeth. Depending on whether the extraction sites are grafted or not, patients may return in 3-6 months for dental implant replacement.
However, in many circumstances it is discovered that the bone, in the areas of the previously missing teeth covered by the bridge, is insufficient. So patient must now undergo another surgical procedure for bone grafting, wait another 4-6 months, and then prepare for placement of the dental implants. With an additional 4 months of implant healing and restorative phase, the overall treatment has taken a year to year and half to complete. Not mention the number of visits, additional time invested by patients, and potential increased treatment cost- Not so efficient!
In this video, we describe a better treatment sequence that will save you time, money, and number of visits when replacing a defective dental bridge with dental implants: