What is the Maryland Bridge?

The Maryland bridge is a minimally invasive fixed dental bridge that fixes the denture by bonding metal or ceramic wing plates to the inner side (lingual or palatal) of the adjacent teeth,

without grinding the healthy adjacent teeth extensively.

Materials for Maryland bridges:

Wing plates: zirconium oxide or lithium disilicate glass ceramics (high strength, translucent).

Bridge body: all-ceramic (such as zirconia block, E-max).

1.Maryland bridges Features

Minimally invasive design:

No need to grind the adjacent teeth like traditional dental bridges, only the wing plates (metal or ceramic) are bonded to the inner side of the adjacent teeth to retain the healthy teeth to the greatest extent.

Maryland bridges Applicable parts:

Mainly used in the anterior teeth area (such as incisors, lateral incisors), areas with high aesthetic requirements.

Maryland bridges Material type:

Metal wing plates: commonly used in the early days, but may show gray and affect the appearance.

All-ceramic wing plates (such as zirconium oxide): modern mainstream, the color is close to natural teeth, and the aesthetics are better.

2.Maryland bridges Applicable people

Missing 1 anterior tooth, and the adjacent teeth are healthy without large-scale fillings or caries.

Not suitable for dental implants (such as teenagers whose jaws are not fully developed) or those who want to avoid surgery.

Seeking fast and economical restoration (short treatment period, lower cost than dental implants).

3.Comparison with other restoration methods

VS:traditional dental bridge:

Maryland bridge does not grind teeth, while traditional dental bridge needs to grind small adjacent teeth.

Traditional dental bridge is more stable, but the damage is irreversible.

VS: dental implant:

Dental implant does not need to rely on adjacent teeth, and has a longer lifespan, but the cost is high and the period is long.

Maryland bridges are a conservative restoration option for missing anterior teeth and are suitable for patients who seek minimally invasive, quick, and economical repairs,

but they may need to be replaced in the long term.