I have an ( 8 ) teeth upper porcelain bridge. I have chipped one of the front teeth and would like to no if it can be repaired and how can it be done.
– Gloria from Georgia
Gloria,
Yes, your porcelain bridge can be repaired, but it requires special techniques that most dentists don’t know. The same techniques are used to repair a porcelain crown.
You are in the Atlanta metropolitan area. I would strongly recommend going to one of our expert cosmetic dentists there that we list. They would know these specialized techniques and would have the specialized equipment and materials needed to properly repair your bridge.
Here is the process.
The first step is to clean and prepare the chipped porcelain for bonding. It must be rinsed, and then etched.
If this porcelain bridge is porcelain fused to metal, and there is exposed metal, the metal must also be etched.
Porcelain can be etched with either hydrofluoric acid or a device called a microetcher that blasts a stream of fine aluminum oxide particles. The metal needs to be etched with the microetcher. Care needs to be used to only etch the part that needs to be repaired, as both these etching techniques will remove the glaze on the porcelain.
The porcelain should then be primed with what is called a silane coupling agent, and then coated with a bonding resin. If there is exposed metal, it needs to be treated with a special metal bonding agent and an opaquer. Cosmetic dentists will generally use a product called Panavia, which is an excellent metal bonding agent and is an opaque white color.
The rest of the repair is done with composite bonding resins of various tints and levels of opacity, layered to match the optical properties of the porcelain. The composite that is used on the surface also needs to be a highly polishable and fairly translucent microfill composite, to give the proper surface luster.
How well the repair holds up over time will depend on how well the repair is done and how well you take care of it. Smoking and extensive coffee drinking will tend to stain the composite repair prematurely, and excessive alcohol consumption will soften the composite and make it more susceptible to wear.
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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