Here’s how I solved Mr Aziz’s dilemma: Dr Nik

To get a denture or to get a bridge? … this is Mr Aziz’s dilemma and he had been pondering on this matter for few months now.

Few months ago, Mr Aziz had lost two lower front teeth. The teeth had been shaking for quite some time and finally it fell out on it’s own ( I assumed the teeth was actually a retained milk teeth that did not have permanent replacement teeth since he has an overall very good oral hygiene and very unlikely to have any gum problem). Since then he had been finding ways to replace the missing teeth.

I am not the only dentist that he sought to help with his problem. He had visited few clinics for consultations regarding his problem and understood pretty well what denture and bridge means.

So, this is his dilemma;

Mr Aziz wanted something that is fixed to replace the missing teeth and he knew that the choice is either to do a bridge or an implant. Between these two options, implant is not an option at the moment due to the cost plus he is also not ready for the surgical procedure of the implant yet. Bridge on the other hand is affordable to him but the preparation that is needed  on the adjacent teeth that involves trimming the teeth into smaller size put him off.

He told me that for now denture is the only option he has. However, denture is a removable prosthesis not fixed that he needs to remove out for cleaning and put it back. He was actually not 100 percent willing to wear denture but as he said that was the only option for him now.

This is when I introduced him the fiber reinforced composite (FRC) bridge. The beauty of this FRC bridge is that it is fixed to the adjacent teeth (bonded to the teeth and cannot be removed) without cutting a lot of tooth structure. It is of course cheaper and not as strong as the normal bridge but if patient has a plan of maybe doing an implant later then this is the best option since almost no preparation done on the adjacent teeth.

Mr Aziz was so delighted to know about the FRC bridge option. He was so excited to get the treatment done that he was willing to wait for me to clear my appointment schedule and get his teeth done on the same day.

It took me an hour to do the FRC bridge for him. He was smiling happily when he first look at his new smile. He told me that should he knew it sooner he would not be going around without his lower front teeth for months!

So now, you know how I solved Mr. Aziz’s problem, would you like me to help yours as well? Email me at nik@story.drfauziah.com if you have this kind of problem.