Provisionalisation in Aesthetic Implant Dentistry

Provisionalisation in Aesthetic Implant Dentistry
Abd El Salam El Askary & Ahmad Shawkat
Thursday 13th January 2005
Smile-on Ltd 2005
Abstract
Implant-supported restorations for partially and fully edentulous patients have been a well-accepted and predictable treatment modality. However, the healing period remains a clinical obstacle towards restoring function and aesthetics for both the clinician and the patient. Within this period, many patients experience apprehension towards losing their social image or daily function, which might develop into a resistance to implant therapy for others. Therefore, clinicians should provide a stable, stress-free, functional and aesthetic provisional restoration to the patients during this critical period. This article reviews the different techniques of provisionalization during implant therapy. It presents the provisionalisation methods in both delayed implant placement and immediate implant placement protocols.
The members of the treatment team should be able to evaluate and perform aesthetic, phonetic and provisional restorations while simultaneously preserving or enhancing the condition of the dental and gingival tissues until the delivery of the final prosthesis is completed.1
For years, provisionalisation was viewed as a rapid, feasible, inexpensive method to obtain disposable crowns and bridges.2 Unfortunately, this concept implied that a provisional restoration need not be perfect, as it would not be in the patientÇƒÙs mouth for a very long period.
Today, with the wide application of dental implants in the routine tooth replacement therapy, the role of the provisional prosthesis has changed dramatically. Although patients might have stayed edentulous for a long time before implant therapy, they tend to ask the usual question, Çƒ?Will I stay toothless until the implants integrate?Çƒ? It becomes embarrassing for the patient to be in public without teeth or with a temporary tooth that is obviously artificial.3 Therefore, it is our goal to establish a functional, aesthetic, provisional prosthesis.
Dental implants offered a highly efficient, predictable modality4,5 and, in order to achieve rigidly fixated implants, a healing period ranging from several months to one year may be required.6 The number of implants used, the condition of the alveolar bone, the location of the implants, and type of implant design are all determining factors for the length of this waiting period.
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