Dental Advice faq from Seattle Area Dentist

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Can you please tell me what to do with a bridge that has fallen out while eating a sandwich. Of course, this just happened (after 6pm) and my dentist is not available until tomorrow am. Do I need to do anything special to preserve the bridge or simply put it in a baggie?

Thank you for visiting our web site and for your questions. Of course, these things always seem to
happen after hours or on the weekends! If the bridge has simply fallen off, and the teeth are intact, you may be able to survive the evening or morning by pushing your bridge back on with a little toothpaste used as a sort of glue... but be careful and do not sleep or eat with it in, since you could end up choking on it! And there is certainly no absolute need for you to keep the bridge in your mouth. Simply clean it off, put it in a plastic bag, and bring it to your dentist. Bridges may be a bit fragile, so I also don't recommend putting it in your back pocket and then sitting on it. As you may know, bridges may fall off for a number of reasons. One of the most common reasons is recurrent decay (cavities), so I do urge you to see your dentist soon. Good luck!