Congenitally missing teeth : Dr Nik
Do you know that we are actually lucky to have all our permanent teeth present to replace our milk teeth. Why do I say so? Well…it is because there are a few of us who don’t have a complete set of permanent teeth. They might have 1 or 2 or 3 or even more teeth missing congenitally (not forming). Dr Fauziah once told me that she had a patient who doesn’t have even one permanent tooth present!!
Now, thinking about that we should be grateful and thankful that we have complete set of permanent teeth present to be functional to us.
Hairin is one of those few people who has few missing teeth. In her case she has two missing teeth on her lower right side. When she first came in to see me, she requested for orthodontic treatment (braces) to close up the gaps in between her teeth.
When I did the initial check up, I realized that the gap was formed because of missing central and lateral incisor of the lower right side and the canine had drifted to the front section.
Upon discussion with orthodontist, the treatment plan was finalized. Hairin treatment plan was to be on braces where the empty space will be localized to one area and later the missing teeth will be replaced with a bridge.
So, Hairin was on braces for almost 2 and a half years and she was referred back to me to do the bridge on the the right side.
On the first visit of doing the bridge, the bracket of the braces on the treated area was removed and cavity preparation for the bridge was done. Temporary bridge was cemented and Hairin left the clinic with another appointment date to fit in the actual bridge.
On the second visit when I fitted in the bridge, it didn’t look nice as the height and shade of the bridge did not match with the natural teeth. The shape was not nice too as it looked too bulbous compared to the rest of the natural teeth. I sent back the bridge to the laboratory for adjustment and Hairin was given another date to issue the bridge.
Finally on the third visit everything was perfect. The bridge looked so nice that when passed Hairin a mirror she broke into a wide smile and her face lighten up.
“Now it looks so perfect that I can smile widely” she said. When I asked whether she’s happy with the bridge, she nodded, smiling happily and gave me permission to cement the bridge permanently.
The bridge was cemented permanently and I gave Hairin instruction on how to keep the bridge clean before she left the clinic. It was a long and tiring procedure for both Hairin and I, but looking at the result that we got, it was worth it.