Transitional custom abutments: optimizing aesthetic treatment in implant-supported restorations

As the discipline of implant prosthodontics continues to evolve, additional emphasis has been focused on the role of adequate emergence profiles and peri-implant soft tissue contours. Despite the development of anatomically shaped healing abutments, currently advocated techniques exhibit clinical limitations. This article introduces the transitional custom abutment technique as a method of manipulating the supra-implant soft tissue contours so that optimal emergence profiles and increased restorative flexibility can be achieved in the treatment of patients with compromised fixture angulation.