Improvements in both implant microsurfaces and placement techniques have reduced healing time and increased survival rates. CAD/CAM technology and improved ceramic materials allow for achievement of improved esthetics at the implant restoration level. Two clinical procedures have the capacity to decrease patient postoperative discomfort and improve esthetics. Flapless surgery reduces surgical trauma and postoperative problems. Placement of the final prosthetic abutment at the time of implant placement stabilizes soft tissue adhesion and position to the implant. Both results require careful presurgical planning with precise implant and abutment placement. This is a clinical report of two cases that are part of a larger ongoing clinical trial of 20 patients. The inclusion criterion was that patients should be missing a single tooth in the esthetic zone. Facilitate™ software was used in conjunction with dicom files transferred from CT scans for diagnosis. Stereolithographic models and surgical guides were fabricated from the digital information. Surgical guides were used preoperatively so implant replicas could be placed in stereolithographic models as simulated surgery. A ZirDesign™ ceramic abutment was adapted on the model, and a provisional crown was fabricated. At the time of actual implant surgery, the same surgical guide was used with a flapless approach. The previously modified ceramic abutment was screw-retained and torqued to place into the implant. The provisional crown was then cemented after blocking out the screw access hole. A final restoration was fabricated from all-ceramic material after several months. Success requires careful patient selection and attention to each step of the technique. Preliminary outcomes from the ongoing clinical trial are promising.
© 2011 by The American College of Prosthodontists.