Telescopic Dentures or bridges as alternative or addition to dental implants. There are many cases where a fixed restoration purely retained by dental (titanium) implants is either not possible due to missing jaw bone, medical conditions or the associated risk of infections around implants covered permanently by a fixed prosthesis. Peri-implantitis is an inherent and increasing risk of dental implant treatment.
The concept of telescopic dentures or bridges is explained here. On this page, you can see examples of the treatment option “Telescopic Dentures / Telescopic Bridges”. All of these examples are cases completed by Dr Nelz.
Case 1: upper failing denture with aesthetic and functional deficiency
State of the affairs …
This patient had to live with a very poor denture which didn’t fit properly. Dental Implant treatment was not an option but it was possible to rehabilitate the patient using the concept of the telescopic denture.
Light at the end of the tunnel …
Finished case- a good result without major implant surgery and relatively affordable. The left picture shows the primary telescopic crowns and the right photo the telescopic denture in situ.
Case 2: failing lower dentition. The patient did not want Implants
This case shows a telescopic prosthesis which is designed like a BRIDGE and not like a DENTURE. There is NO acrylic covering the gum. The bridge is Porcelain veneered which is aesthetically superior and long-lasting. Porcelain veneered telescopic bridges are only fabricated by highly specialised dental laboratories in Germany (Ruebeling & Klar).
Telescopic Bridge
The patient did want a long-lasting solution to restore the lower jaw. He didn’t want dental implants.
Finished telescopic bridge …
Due to the high number of telescopic retainer teeth, this is a restoration which can be removed by the patient for cleaning purposes. If one of the retainer teeth fails (in the future!) the bridge can be easily altered and will continue to function perfectly well.
A case from 2008 – replacement of old Chrome denture with a telescopic prosthesis.
Another telescopic bridge …over troubled water…
The patient received a very long lasting solution: a removable telescopic bridge and 4 natural teeth and 3 implants. On the photos, you can see the situation after the placement of the implants and after the preparation of the natural teeth.
Work in progress …
The left photo shows the secondary telescopic crowns and the implants ready for the pick-up impression.
The right photo shows the primary telescopic crowns fitted, ready for the insertion of the removable telescopic prosthesis.
The finish line …
The telescopic bridge in place – note: no coverage of the palate! Right photo: prosthesis in the mouth. For aesthetic reasons, we had to add some acrylic to achieve a nice and harmonic result.
Another case
Telescopic bridge on 4 teeth and 1 titanium implant
In this case, we used the remaining 4 teeth of the patient and inserted a dental implant to restore the upper jaw with a removable bridge. A fixed bridge would not be advisable nor possible! A removable bridge on telescopic crowns has the advantage that the patient can clean the teeth/crowns daily.
How it works …
Left photo: PRIMARY telescopic crowns, Right photo: SECONDARY telescopic crowns – integrated into the frame of the removable bridge. The secondary crowns SLIDE over the primary crowns and the bridge is held in place by friction. Here the detailed explanation.
