Clinical and Laboratory Steps for Fabricating a Complete-Arch Fixed Prosthesis Using CAD/CAM

The fabrication of a full-arch maxillary prosthesis has been associated with several prosthetic complications and difficulties. Even though it has been reported that phonetics, esthetics, and proper lip support are difficult to achieve, there is a scarcity in the literature regarding the clinical and laboratory procedures necessary to minimize these complications. This article provides clinical and laboratory steps that may enable the clinician to achieve more predictable restorative results when using computer-aided design/computer-assisted manufacture (CAD/CAM) to fabricate a full-arch maxillary implant-supported prosthesis. The technique presented here describes the use of an implant-retained diagnostic wax-up that is subsequently duplicated to an interim polymethylmethacrylate prosthesis using CAD/CAM before fabricating the definitive restoration.