Dealing with fractured ceramic on zirconia bridges!

Dealing with fractured ceramic on zirconia bridges!

We have all seen it: we finish a case that we like, we pat ourselves on the back and send the patient home. At a later date we get the call: “my front tooth chipped”. As we look at the situation we see that the chip is on an abutment in a zirconia bridge, if we want to replace the bridge, we will have to cut off three or more units and redo them. Here is one solution that I recently used on a case with Dr. Frankie Shull.  He cut a thin preparation in the facial of the layering ceramic, avoiding the zirconia itself. I was able to wax and press a thin e.max lithium disilicate veneer to recreate the initial shape and form of the tooth. Frankie placed a rubber dam, etched the surface of the preparation, then bonded the lithium disilicate restoration over the zirconia bridge. The result is a stronger incisal third that is less likely to fracture in the future, and this was accomplished without the trauma of removing a multiunit bridge.. 

I am experiencing problems with uploading photos to this roadside multimedia site, so to see this case please follow this link to my iWeb site:

http://web.me.com/matrob1/Matt_Roberts_Corner/Blog/Blog.html 

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