Mitchell, Donald L.

This paper describes the design and fabrication of a soft liner-retained, implant-supported overdenture used in 10 patients over a period of 1 to 6 years. A final complete denture impression is made of the dental arch, including implant abutments extending 5 mm above the gingival tissue. The master cast is fabricated with actual abutments placed in the impression. After the final wax try-in, the denture is flasked in the usual manner with the metal abutments in place. Before packing with acrylic resin, plastic tubing 1 to 2 mm thick is placed around each abutment. The denture is trial packed and allowed to bench cure over night. The plastic tubing is then removed and a soft denture lining material is placed in these areas only. The flask is closed and cured according to the manufacturers recommendation. The denture is delivered as a conventional overdenture. Keywords: dental implant, overdenture, soft liner, treatment planning

In 1988, a 54-year-old edentulous patient received a cranial bone onlay graft with the immediate placement of five dental implants. Treatment procedures and early results of restoration are described. Keywords: alveolar atrophy, cranial bone onlay graft, dental implants

Focal areas of gingival hyperplasia surrounding the transmucosal portions of titanium implants have been attributed to poor hygiene, lack of attached gingival tissues, and titanium allergy. Following mandibular vestibuloplasty and placement of a split-thickness skin graft, two of five patients developed persistent proliferation of the epithelial tissue surrounding endosseous CP titanium dental implants. In both circumstances, traditional gingivectomy procedures, chemotherapeutic agents, and aggressive oral hygiene measures failed to adequately control the hyperplastic response. Following replacement of the titanium abutments with custom-fabricated gold abutments, the epithelial condition appeared to return to normal. Keywords: dental implant, gold, hyperplastic tissue, titanium