An Interim Prosthetic Rescue with Natural Tooth Pontic – A Case Series

Abstract

Sudden loss of an anterior tooth cripples a person functionally and emotionally. Esthetic demands, functional needs, treatment sequencing, timeliness and affordability are some primary concerns that must be addressed in such a scenario. A patient would generally want a cosmetic and functional prosthetic replacement at the earliest. Providing the most appropriate interim prosthesis for a given patient is challenging. In this case series we describe a clinical technique being an immediate provisional option utilizing a resin bonded, wire retained natural tooth as a pontic to restore the edentulous space until the final restoration. Using the patient’s own natural tooth offers the benefit of retaining original anatomy, being economical and fulfills functional and psychological requirements of the patient to an extent. It was seen that the natural tooth pontic served as a satisfactory interim restoration. The same natural tooth pontic can be used as a provisional prosthesis during two stage implant procedure as well.