A Technique for Standardized Evaluation of Soft and Hard Peri-Implant Tissues in Partially Edentulous Patients

Background: There is a growing need to evaluate the esthetics of implant-supported crowns and bridges. An important tool for such an evaluation is standardized assessment of the soft and hard peri-implant tissue levels. Methods: A simple acrylic device has been developed for reliable and reproducible assessment of soft and hard peri-implant tissues using standardized color slides and standardized dental x-rays. With this device, changes in both the soft and hard tissues around implant-supported crowns can be evaluated as a function of time. The reproducibility of the technique was tested on color slides as well as on dental x-rays in a series of implant-supported crowns and their neighboring teeth. Results: The reproducibility of this technique was excellent. The measuring errors for repeated measurements of the soft and hard tissues were 0.14 +/- 0.02 mm and 0.13 +/- 0.01 mm, respectively. Conclusions: The device is a reliable tool to assess changes in both soft and hard tissues around crowns and implants over time. Likewise, it is suggested that this technique also can be used to objectively assess soft and hard tissue changes around natural teeth with or without prosthetic restorations

The use of a coded healing abutment as an impression coping to desing and mill an individualized anatomic abutment: a clinical report

A coded implant healing abutment makes an impression at the implant level no longer necessary. An impression is made of the healing abutment, which is placed onto the implant directly after implant placement. The codes embedded in the occlusal surface of the healing abutment provide essential information for the computer software to place the implant analog in the definitive cast and to design and mill the definitive abutment. (J Prosthet Dent 2011;105:181-185