When is a mold used in the preparation of a dental bridge? The difference between a mold and an impression?

In developing a fixed bridge over tooth #s 12-14 to correct a 20 year old missing tooth # 13 should there have been a mold taken in preparation of the bridge and how does it differ from an impression?

A mold is the same thing as an impression. When making a bridge, the dentist will first take an impression of the teeth in order to fabricate a temporary bridge. He will make a stone model from the impression, and add the missing tooth with wax, then take a silicone impression of the model with the wax tooth.
On the preparation day, the dentist will prep the teeth in your mouth (grind them down, and taper them with diamond burs), then take a super accurate ‘master’ impression to send off to the dental lab. This is the impression that you are probably referring to. The lab will make your bridge from this impression. After the master impression is taken, the dentist will squirt some temporary crown material (composite resin material) into the impression he got from the stone model. He will place this impression with the temp crown material over your prepped teeth and let it set. Then the dentist removes the temp bridge, trims it, and cements in place. A few weeks later the temporary bridge is removed, and the permanent one is cemented in place.
There is also a newer technology that lets you make an ‘instant’ crown or bridge. The dentist takes a digital image of the prepped tooth/teeth, with a CEREC machine, and the crown/bridge is milled from a block of ceramic. Your teeth can be prepped, and restored in the same day.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 31st, 2010 at 4:41 am and is filed under dental bridge. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

One Response to “When is a mold used in the preparation of a dental bridge? The difference between a mold and an impression?”

Eric J on March 31st, 2010 at 10:12 am

A mold is the same thing as an impression. When making a bridge, the dentist will first take an impression of the teeth in order to fabricate a temporary bridge. He will make a stone model from the impression, and add the missing tooth with wax, then take a silicone impression of the model with the wax tooth.
On the preparation day, the dentist will prep the teeth in your mouth (grind them down, and taper them with diamond burs), then take a super accurate ‘master’ impression to send off to the dental lab. This is the impression that you are probably referring to. The lab will make your bridge from this impression. After the master impression is taken, the dentist will squirt some temporary crown material (composite resin material) into the impression he got from the stone model. He will place this impression with the temp crown material over your prepped teeth and let it set. Then the dentist removes the temp bridge, trims it, and cements in place. A few weeks later the temporary bridge is removed, and the permanent one is cemented in place.
There is also a newer technology that lets you make an ‘instant’ crown or bridge. The dentist takes a digital image of the prepped tooth/teeth, with a CEREC machine, and the crown/bridge is milled from a block of ceramic. Your teeth can be prepped, and restored in the same day.
References :
My training as a dentist.

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