26 July 2024

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3D-Printed Temporary Wing Bride as a Temporary Restoration in the Posterior

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The fear of a missing tooth often leads to postponing the visit at the dentist. While extraction itself is a major stressful experience for the patient, the presence of visible gaps or missing teeth inside or outside the aesthetic zone is a deal breaker for a lot of patients. Bridging the time spent until inserting any final restoration with a provisional enables the patients to still take part in everyday life.

This case report shows a new approach for a fixed dental provisional in the anterior region using a printed wing bridge approach to replace an extracted tooth. The provisional was prefabricated, and extraction and integration of the provisional could be placed in a single visit. The chosen approach shows the integrability of 3D printing in everyday practice providing immediate economical and aesthetic treatment.

Introduction

Tooth extraction can be a physically and psychologically challenging experience for patients. While various methods of anaesthesia, such as intrasulcular or intraosseous anaesthesia, are available, extractions can still lead to medical emergencies in dental offices. It is therefore essential for dentists and their staff to minimise patient stress during the procedure. Rapid but atraumatic extraction of the entire tooth is required, and patients expect gentle and painless treatment as well as immediate restorations, especially in aesthetic areas.

Various approaches to temporary restoration can be found in dental practice, with a provisional removable denture supported by the remaining teeth being the most common. However, more comfortable methods such as wing bridges or splints can replace one or two teeth. In addition to the classic function of replacing tooth structure during extraction and protecting it during prosthetic preparations, temporary restorations are becoming increasingly popular with patients for aesthetic reasons. The wing bridge is currently the most effective approach in terms of permanent fixation and a high aesthetic outcome, with various millable and grindable materials available for this purpose. Common complications associated with these types of dental bridges are debonding, tooth discoloration, or cavities. Overall, the survival rate is reported to be around 77% in 10 years.

Although permanent restorative materials can be used provisionally, their cost-effectiveness must be considered. To address the issues of cost-effectiveness and customisation, 3D-printed temporary restorations can be used instead. The longevity of printed temporaries still needs to be discussed. The ever-improving quality of 3D printers has increased the use and popularity of printable dental restorations, but long-term clinical results are not yet available.

Studies have shown the effectiveness of 3D-printed crowns as provisional restorations with expanded indications and approvals in recent years to include wing bridges.

However, the use of wing bridges has been limited to anterior teeth with sufficient oral bonding surface and exposure to low masticatory forces. This case report presents a new way of restoring a premolar.

Author: Richard Mosch, Maurice Hatzky, Patricia Hatzky, Constantin von See

Source: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/