Zirconia removable telescopic dentures retained on teeth or implants for maxilla rehabilitation. Three-year observation of three cases

• Published in: The Journal of oral implantology Vol. 36; no. 6; pp. 455 - 465
• Main Authors: Zafiropoulos, Gregory-George, Rebbe, Jochen, Thielen, Ulrich, Deli, Giorgio, Beaumont, Christian, Hoffmann, Oliver
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Allen Press Inc 01.01.2010
• Subjects: Aged; Biocompatible Materials - chemistry; Computer-Aided Design; Crowns; Dental Abutments; Dental care; Dental Implants; Dental Marginal Adaptation; Dental Materials - chemistry; Dental Prosthesis Design; Dental Prosthesis, Implant-Supported; Dentistry; Denture Retention - instrumentation; Denture, Complete, Upper; Denture, Overlay; Electrochemical Techniques; Esthetics, Dental; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Gold Alloys - chemistry; Humans; Jaw, Edentulous - rehabilitation; Jaw, Edentulous - surgery; Male; Middle Aged; Periodontal Diseases - therapy; Postoperative period; Retrospective Studies; Teeth; Telescopes; Zirconium - chemistry
• ISSN: 0160-6972; 1548-1336
• DOI: 10.1563/aaid-joi-d-09-00065

This report addresses maxillary restoration with removable telescopic crown-retained palatal free dentures. One patient with 7 natural teeth (PERIO), a second patient with 6 dental implants (IMPL), and a third patient with 2 natural teeth and 4 dental implants (IMPL-PERIO) were treated. Zirconia copings for natural teeth and individual zirconia implant abutments were fabricated in CAD/CAM and used as primary crowns. Electroformed gold copings were used as secondary telescopes. All maxilla supraconstructions were fabricated with zirconia and CAD/CAM. Patients were monitored during a 3-year period; all teeth and implants survived, and no biological or mechanical complications occurred. The peri-implant and periodontal conditions were healthy. While recognizing the limitations of this report, results showed that fabricating removable zirconia structures by means of CAD/CAM can yield highly functional and esthetic results. Galvanoforming technology is the preferable means of fabricating secondary crowns. The combination of these techniques and materials results in a prosthetic reconstruction of high quality, good fit, and biocompatibility. Long-term studies of large populations are necessary to investigate the clinical properties of the material utilized in this type of construction.