Setting Yourself Up for Success: Temporary Implant Crown

Implant dentistry provides much opportunity for practice growth, professional satisfaction, and dental team expansion. As digital dentistry continues to grow, it also becomes easier to coordinate with the surgeon and dental lab. Along with this advancement is the need for a temporary implant crown technique that keeps patients happy.

Find Success With the Temporary Implant Crown

Implant restorations require the careful manipulation of a variety of factors while considering the extent of the dental work to be completed. Before and after the implant is placed, it’s key to organize how the esthetics will be achieved by hiding the abutment and color matching to surrounding teeth. Have your dental assistant take thorough pre-op photographs, either for use with chairside CAD/CAM fabrication or a dental laboratory.

You must also factor in how the temporary can aid in the implant healing process. For example, leaving the gingival embrasures open is much more favorable to the patient. Additionally, immediate temporization is likely a suitable pathway to further protect the implant site.

Provisionals for implants must be durable enough to last at least six months in the mouth. Their creation will begin with models taken from the patient. The missing tooth/teeth should be waxed onto the model and a vacuform stent should be fabricated on the model. The latter will function as a provisional mold.

One of the most important steps to take after affixing temporary abutments to the implant and reducing them is to try in the stent over the abutments. Adjust if necessary. Also, you can increase retention of the provisional material to the metal by utilizing a self-adhesive resin.

Our final tip in the temporary fabrication process for implant crowns is to place a light-activated material into the access of abutments. This will prevent the provisional resin material you later apply from blocking abutment removal.

Want to elevate the quality of your restorations? Check out this post on the Gold Dust Dental Lab blog featuring a technique for incisal edge translucency. We’re also loving a throwback blog from CMS educator Dr. Mike Smith on screw-retained implant crowns. Read it here.

What are your thoughts on fabricating esthetic and functional temporary crowns? Please let us know your take on this topic in the comments!