The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 6 plus 7 letter word DENTAL SURGEON
D
E
N
T
A
L
S
U
R
G
E
O
N
More clues leading to the result DENTAL SURGEON
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "operator on bridge" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case operator on bridge = dental surgeon.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.