How many anchor teeth required for 3-pontic bridge?

Question

My partner went to two dentists who proposed fixed bridges which differed in the number of anchor teeth required. Three pontics are to replace the missing top two front incisors and the decayed (to be extracted) incisor to the right of those. Dentist 1 said three anchors are required, i.e. incisor and canine on left side and canine on right side. Dentist 2 said only two anchors required, i.e. incisor on left side and canine on right side. Which should we go for and why? Are two anchors enough?

Prince Arrington III, DDS · Answer

As a rule of thumb, the abutment tooth root surface area should equal
the pontic tooth surface area.  In the
case that you described, teeth #7, #8, and #9 are missing, one lateral and two
central incisors.  I prefer a bridge from
#6 (canine right side) to #11 (canine on the left side).  If my numbers are wrong, it doesn’t
matter!  If we are discussing three
missing front teeth, go from canine to canine. 
A lateral incisor cannot support a bridge that has three pontics, the
root is too small! Btw, have you had a discussion with your dentist about the possibility of implants? If not, you should!

Richard Champagne, DMD, MAGD · Answer

Your question is really a very good one!This becomes more a question of engineering than dentistry.  Just like a bridge that you drive your car over, the more supports that a dental bridge has the stronger it is. So the short answer is three support teeth are better than twoI'm just curious to know if a three unit dental implant supported bridge is another possible option? This is something that you might want to discuss with your dentist.I hope you found this information to be helpful,Dr. Champagne

German Arzate, DDS - Account Suspended · Answer

You should consider dental implants , the problem is not how many teeth are goong to be the anchorage , 3,4 or 5 will do , the problem is that you will grind teeth to support a bridge , and with implants you do not need to touch the adjacent teeth ,now if because of budget you are doing bridges instead , look for dental tourism , this will be a good and affordable option for you and you will get everything solved within 1 visit.

How many anchor teeth required for 3-pontic bridge?

Answers (3)

Recommended reading

Everything you need to know about Dental Bridge

Our mission is to create a world where every investment in modern beauty is Worth It.

How many anchor teeth required for 3-pontic bridge?

Answers (3)

Browse related questions

Recommended reading

Everything you need to know about Dental Bridge

Our mission is to create a world where every investment in modern beauty is Worth It.