Fixed Porcelain Fused to Metal Implant Prosthetics
- Our goal is to create a natural-looking emergence to ensure optimal gingival health and a beautiful crown restoration. Select from a prefabricated stock abutment, custom UCLA castable abutment or CAD/CAM milled abutment. Milled abutments are available in titanium or zirconia.
- Several choices of abutment are available for a cement retained case:
- prefabricated stock abutment
- castable UCLA custom abutment
- CAD/CAM milled abutment.
- Primary advantage for using stock abutments is cost. Since stock abutments are restricted to a predetermined number of collar heights to allow margin placement and angles, usually 10 to 25 degrees, they are not ideal for off angled implants and those placed in less-than-ideal locations. In instances where the emergence profiles need to be expanded, to correct mis-angled implant placement or even increase abutment length to support cemented crown, you are faced with compromised results. Stock abutments are typically suited for premolars or molars.
- For the aesthetic zone, a castable UCLA custom abutment is ideal as it allows you to customize the emergence profile, crown margin depth and abutment angulations. Select white noble alloy or yellow high noble alloy. Major drawback with using a castable UCLA custom abutment is cost primarily due to additional labor and market price of gold.
- CAD/CAM technology has revolutionized fabrication of implant abutments. We can virtually design the abutments and have it milled from a solid block of titanium or zirconium.
- This technology allows us to create custom abutments to practically any angle, taper, finish line, height and width to create the most natural form and emergence profile. Since the milling of the abutment is done at the implant manufacturer the only drawback is time. We need minimum 12 working days to complete the abutment and final crown restoration. If a rush (less than 12 days) is necessary, the only option is for us to cast a UCLA abutment as we can turn around a completed restoration in 6 working days.