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Dental

Implant 

Custom Abutments
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As dental implant therapy becomes increasingly pivotal in dentistry, the need for picking the right materials and devices that aid in obtaining the perfect prosthesis is extremely crucial. In implant-retained dentures, dental implant abutments play an important role. They are responsible for providing a stable connection between the implant framework and the prosthesis. Abutments are available in its stock and custom forms. We’re going to discuss custom abutments in a little more detail in this article.
Custom dental implant abutments, as their name suggests, are custom-made for patients. These abutments can be accurately milled to fit the crest of the tissue, or fabricated from zirconia for a better match to the patient’s teeth. For these reasons, they are highly recommended for use in the aesthetic zone. They will match a patient’s smile, even as the gums recede.
These dental implant abutments play an important role in the post-implant placing process. During the healing phase, the patient-specific contours of a custom abutment sculpt the peri-implant tissue in order to accommodate the final restoration, setting up a smooth and atraumatic transition when the time comes to deliver the final custom abutment and crown.

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Final custom abutments are available in several materials, such as:
1.  PEEK                                                                  2.  Titanium
3.  Cobalt-Chromium                                           4.  Zirconia
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Each material has its own advantages – PEEK has excellent biocompatibility, Titanium is the strongest and most durable, Co-Cr is the cheapest and Zirconia provides great aesthetic advantages for patients with a thin tissue biotype. Regardless of the material used, the abutment height, margins, contours and emergence profile are designed and milled with precision using CAD/CAM technology to meet the needs of individual patients. These abutments can be 3D printed too.
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Advantages of Custom Abutments:
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1. They help achieve a passive fit.
2. The final restorations are manufactured to the patient’s exact gingival architecture, achieving an optimal emergence profile and a more aesthetically-pleasing outcome.
3. It is easier to correct the angulation of the implants.
4. Fewer chair-side adjustments are required.
5. Very suited for cases with multiple implants, where there are many different angulations required.
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As custom abutments provide a great fit for every tooth while also being easier for the patient to maintain due to accurate gingival contouring, these are the preferred choice by most dentists and patients.

Maxillofacial Implants

Custom implants for the reconstruction of craniofacial and maxillofacial defects have gained importance due to superior performances compared to their generic counterparts. Application of 3D modelling in maxillofacial surgery has played an important role in ensuring the same, and is changing the way surgeons are planning surgeries with custom implants. CAD/CAM systems have given us the ability to design and manufacture custom implants at an acceptable cost and in a reasonable timeframe.

Other manufacturing technologies such as stereolithography (SLA), polyjet, fused deposition modelling; 3D printing, selective laser melting (SLM), selective laser sintering (SLS) and electron beam melting (EBM) have also been pivotal in manufacturing complex anatomic parts and have overcome many functional, practical and mechanical barriers in the bargain.

The customised implants are created in the pre-surgical stage, on the basis of the medical and morphological data acquired by computer-assisted-tomography or nuclear magnetic resonance using three-dimensional virtual models and by CAD/CAM techniques. One of the major benefits of custom implants is that it can be designed in any shape or size, largely influenced only by the surgeon’s imagination and the patient’s aesthetic needs and tissue tolerances.

Types of Custom Implants:

1. Cranial Implants – helps in providing exact symmetry & maintaining original aesthetics.
2. Maxillofacial Implants – recreation of complete maxillofacial structures, functions and aesthetics, while preserving minimum thickness so as to reduce weight.
3. Mandibular Implants
4. Orthopaedics

Advantages of Custom Implants:

1. Lightweight
2. Highly customisable
3. Help in risk mitigation by verifying the design beforehand
4. Complex designs are possible
5. Helps in avoiding additional tools and manpower
6. Have a low carbon footprint

DID YOU KNOW?

One of the new possible theories with 3D Modelling technology is to produce a custom implant with the analogue that mimics the root of the missing tooth, as opposed to the traditional implant design (threaded, straight, or tapered). With similar dimensions to the original root, the custom implant could provide better matching with the root socket of the missing tooth.