9 teeth bridge possible ?

[oldtonew]

Now just curious if something like this can be possible. I'll explain below ( top front teeth, numbered with #4 and #5 being the center 2 teeth - between them is the center line of my face - that should give an idea of what teeth they are )

Left > 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 < Right

#1 - damaged by cavity on a side but otherwise in relatively good condition ( root wise I mean )

#2 - was prepped 5 years ago for a crown, not finished, had a root canal that remained opened, damaged ( one doctor thinks it needs to be taken out, one thinks the root might be saved depending on what they find once they go in )

#3 - was finished 5 years ago, has a crown, and a metal pivot supporting the crown - have no problems with it, no pain, seems to be standing firmly in place

#4 - prepped 5 years ago for crown - never finished - root canal, left open, damaged ( 99% needs to be taken out - already got this diagnosis from 2 different doctors )

#5 - same as #4 - 2 docs tell me it needs to come out completely

#6 - same as #3 - in relatively good condition though this is the area where i got inflammations in the past few months - though doc tells me it's because of the ones adjacent to it since they're exposed - the crown is firmly in place, have no pain on pressure or anything

#7 - same as #2 - though doc seems pretty sure the root can be saved

#8 - no work on it, still has nerve, but outer layer completely gone, however plenty of tooth left above the gum line so most likely root can be saved.

#9 - no work on it, still has nerve, half of it cracked and fell, but root is there and shouldn't cause issues

So ... my question is simple - I've already asked a friend of mine, known her for over 10 years, she's a dentist, practices and all that ( she started the work on me but since i freaked out and stopped going she didn't get to finish - the reason i don't go to her is i'm afraid, i trust her completely but she works in a small clinic and that IV sedation from this other big clinic is too sexy to overlook ) - she looked at my x-ray, she looked in my mouth and according to her yeah, i can get a large bridge put in for all 9 teeth. But extra opinions never hurt.

So ... as explained above ... assuming I have as follows Left > 1root 2missing 3root 4missing 5missing 6root 7missing 8root 9root < Right - can a bridge like that work ?

I took the absolute worst case scenario where all the teeth I started working on years ago need to be taken out but as I said #7 for example is a good candidate for being saved - the root i mean, and there is a chance i might even save root #2 as well.

I'm sorry for the long message but can't get valid opinions without all the details and to be honest ... my appointment is on Friday and it's gonna be an initial appointment, no work to be done ... but I'm already kinda freaking out about the whole thing that I'm about to embark on and knees are weak and all that ... my response to this is information. Get as much information as I can. Somehow it helps. So that's why I'm here. Just looking for opinions.

Yes, I know that nothing beats an X-ray and a close look so that's gonna be the final decision, not gonna pester the doctor based on what I read online, no worries.

To be honest - this is more of a "is this possible" kind of thing. Because wherever I see, I only see 3-4-5 teeth bridges, rarely more than 5.

Yes - implants are the plan for the long run but right now no money for them, and also ... that's a huge thing for me. I'm simply not prepared for something like that right now. I'd like to first do this, then a few months from now, save some more money, go again, get sedated, and do some cavities and fix teeth on left side, then same thing a few months later and fix teeth on right side. The hope is to get them all in a semi-functioning state over the course of the next year. And after that, with renewed forces, and bank account, to go for implants maybe in 1-2 years from now.

They're never gonna be perfect, nor 100% functional, but I'd like to get them to a point where I don't have to worry about inflammations and infections and them breaking down, and where I can kinda eat without doing gymnastics with my tongue.

Also ... it would be nice if I could talk to other people. 5-6 years of being locked up in the house, mumbling just a few words because I have no front teeth, no relationship, no social life. I wake up, I work, I go to bed - that's been my life ... it's not been easy.

EDIT: if it makes any difference - as bad as they are above the gum line ... my roots are very deep, and very fixed. absolutely no problem with mobility or anything like that. Despite them being damage above the gum line, signs seem to point towards strong roots.

Also - no issues whatsoever with them except 2 inflammations in recent months, caused apparently by tooth #5 which needs to come out.

I know, it's amazing to me that I'm not in horrible pain considering how destroyed my mouth is. But I'm pretty sure if I don't start fixing them, I'm gonna reach the land of horrible pain soon enough. Fun times ahead.

 

[MattKW]

1. The primary reason that long bridges are not attempted is that there are technical difficulties when making them (distortion, shrinkage) that make it almost impossible to get a good fit on all teeth simultaneously. It can be done, but it would take a highly skilled dentist with a highly skilled lab, and it would cost you $$$.
2. Another reason is that you want to make a bridge that goes around a curve and effectively glues all the teeth together in a single bridge. This creates uneven biting forces and usually the bridge loosens off one or two teeth over time; then the whole bridge fails.Teeth work best as single units; bridges change that arrangement.
   
3. Finally, bridging over teeth with RCTs is very risky.

 

[oldtonew]

1. The primary reason that long bridges are not attempted is that there are technical difficulties when making them (distortion, shrinkage) that make it almost impossible to get a good fit on all teeth simultaneously. It can be done, but it would take a highly skilled dentist with a highly skilled lab, and it would cost you $$$.
2. Another reason is that you want to make a bridge that goes around a curve and effectively glues all the teeth together in a single bridge. This creates uneven biting forces and usually the bridge loosens off one or two teeth over time; then the whole bridge fails.Teeth work best as single units; bridges change that arrangement.
   
3. Finally, bridging over teeth with RCTs is very risky.

Well ... money-wise I'm more or less ok. As for the doctors there ... I haven't seen any kind of ratings or whatever ... but I would say this chain of clinics is one of the top 3 in the country. A rather famous doctor, at least nationwide, leading the clinics and they do all sorts of cutting edge stuff - at least comparative to all other clinics in the country. ( note: I'm not in the States )

As for #2 ... to be honest I am fully prepared for it not lasting too long. As I mentioned - I accept that it might be tricky and I might not get more than a few years out of it. Also I am fully aware that my days of biting into anything are long gone. Small pieces, straight to chewing from now on.

And #3 ... have to admit ... did not know that. I assumed that since you can do crowns over treated roots, you can also do bridges. good to know.

But I do understand all your points and they're very good points. In which case ... would you see any option for me that doesn't include implants right now ? So ... assuming it's a no-go on the full single bridge ... is there a chance to do several smaller ones for example ?

As I said ... I'm just trying to work my courage up somehow ... again, fully realize none of this means anything until the doc sees me tomorrow and then sees my x-ray and does a proper analysis of the whole thing.

 

[MattKW]

Wait until tmoro, tell me what they say, and put the Xrays up here pls. I've given you 3 good reasons why I wouldn't do it. Any single one of those reasons should make you very wary.

 

[oldtonew]

So .. went and looks like I have no choice but to go through the whole implant thing. At least in my case. Looks like there are some issues with my bite so that needs to be adjusted. It's all very complicated ... it was just too much information.

Eventually just decided if I'm gonna do it - might as well commit to the whole thing. Next week I'm gonna get them cleaned since there's some tartar deposits on one side - the side I've not been using and they'll have like 2-3 different doctors to look at me and see which roots can be saved and which ones need to be taken out ( one endo something, one surgical and another one I think that deals with crowns or something like that ) since over the course of the treatment apparently I'll have 6 different doctors working on me - saw their names on the treatment plan they gave me.

And I'm just gonna have to commit to do the entire mouth. From one side to the other, they'll adjust my bite, I'll do the implants, get rid of bad wisdom teeth and basically do everything.

Seems that while there's a lot of work to be done - apparently it's not all hopeless. This doctor lady seemed very confident that if we do everything right I will have full use of my mouth and they'll also be nice to look at.

Good news is they can put me to sleep through some of the more heavy duty stuff, they also have some kind of gas sedation which they claim will relax me ... so ... hopefully i will be able to manage my fears.

But yeah ... a crap ton of money and it will probably take 6-12 months to do depending on my finances ( could be done faster but I just don't have the finances to do it all in just a few months ). Right now I only have money set aside to cover almost half of it.

On the one hand it sucks ... but on the other ... I was gonna have to do it anyway ... might as well do it all in one sitting than spread it out over a few years.

I could quite literally build a small house, maybe not finish it fully - but still, with the money it's gonna cost me )

But hey ... my mistakes, my poor choices ... I should be the one to suffer and pay for it all so can't blame anyone else but myself.

So ... that's the conclusion ... and the plan ... now begins the work.

EDIT: I don't mean do the whole mouth in the sense that they'll take everything out. No, just a few extractions where needed, and implants and the rest will be fixed either by fillings where possible, or crowns where needed. But they all need a bit of attention and I have about 13 teeth that require heavy work ( either extraction/implant or crown )