Failed conventional bridge work from general dental practice: clinical aspects and treatment needs of 142 cases.

The reasons for failure of 142 bridges in 130 patients from general dental practice seen at the Bristol Dental Hospital from 1981 to 1986 were assessed. Most patients were either self-referred or sent by a dentist who had not made the bridge. The mean age of the bridges at failure was 6.2 years. The main single reasons for failure were secondary caries or apical pathology, but many bridges failed as a result of factors related to design and structure. Bridges of porcelain fused to gold or gold faced with acrylic lasted twice as long as those of porcelain fused to alloys. There was no correlation between the age of the patient at bridge placement and years of service. Eighteen per cent of the bridges were repaired, recemented or rescued by endodontics alone; 61% were replaced by a new bridge, and the remainder required a removable prosthesis.