Implants: How Cool is That?

I’ve been working on a case with my world-class ceramist, Matt Roberts, for the past month. It is a case that will require some pink porcelain or composite to get the esthetics correct. The patient previously had multiple grafting procedures to gain vertical height after a failed implant left a 10mm vertical defect. The implant has been placed and now we get to design a restoration that allows us to close the massive black triangles by adding pink composite at delivery.

Implants in the Digital World

Matt just texted (you read correctly, he texted) me images of the preliminary design of both the custom abutment and the restoration as he plans them on his digital design software. In the very recent past, he would have waxed the abutment, cast it in high-noble metal, waxed the restoration, taken pictures and emailed me the images of the wax-up to see if I like what he did. Today, he scans the model with the implant analog and then can design the entire prosthesis without working on a model. He can then text me the images while I am on a mountain bike ride in the Arizona desert and I can see what he is proposing, give my input and then finish my ride while he mills both the abutment and the final crown. Now I get to see the framework or little “wings” on the restoration that will support the pink composite that I will place at the time of delivery. He will etch the wings and I will bond the composite at chairside to get the best match and make sure the patient can clean it. How cool is that?