Oral Rehabilitation Using Zirconia Implants and Zirconia Prostheses

After the resolution in terms of functionality of treatments with implants and surgical protocols, efforts have been focused on the esthetics of implant-bearing rehabilitations, owing to patient's demands, requiring thus wide-range technological and scientific investments. The zirconia used in dental implants has some properties comparable, even higher, to those of titanium. In terms of prosthetic rehabilitation, protocols using acrylic resin were gradually replaced by metal-ceramic protocols, and, following the popularity of metal-free reconstructions in dentistry, by all-zirconia protocols, with fore-teeth stratification, in the pursue of esthetic excellence. The clinical case was a patient of 43, totally upper edentulous for over 20 years. After complete pre-operative exams, we proceeded with planning the case and building the surgical stents. The placement of eight 10- or 12mm-long implants was planned according to the location of the remaining bone without using bone grafts. After 5 months, the implants were opened, and after 15 days, we started the prosthetic phase. Once the CERALOG abutments were used to choose the ideal positioning for each abutment, the laboratory produced a milled resin bar for the first try, before milling the zirconia (ZrO2) protocol bar. Another try-on and bite record was made for the ceramic stratification. The structure being finished, definite abutments were lodged in the patient's mouth with the torque that was recommended by the manufacture. The combination of technologies in Implantology and Prostheses was possible in this case, giving the patient not only her former function and esthetics but also the biocompatibility of zirconia both within the bone and outside the mouth, with excellent resistance, and incomparable prosthetic resolution. The CERALOG system of implants counts with all the necessary elements so that any type of prostheses upon implants be developed, ranging from one-piece dentures to a total protocol, as shown in this case of total rehabilitation. Keywords: zirconia implants, zirconia prostheses, flexibility