CAD/CAM technology for implant abutments, crowns, and superstructures

Area of Science:

• Dental Implantology
• Biomaterials Science
• Digital Dentistry

Background:

• Conventional fabrication of implant prostheses is a well-established procedure.
• Advancements in digital dentistry have introduced computer-assisted design and computer-assisted manufacturing (CAD/CAM) for fabricating dental restorations.
• The long-term clinical performance and comparative benefits of CAD/CAM versus conventional techniques for implant prostheses require systematic evaluation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review and compare CAD/CAM fabricated implant prostheses with conventionally fabricated ones.
• To assess differences in esthetics, biologic and mechanical complications, patient satisfaction, and economic factors.
• To evaluate the survival rates of CAD/CAM fabricated implant components (abutments, crowns, frameworks).

Main Methods:

• Systematic review of clinical studies with long-term follow-up.
• Electronic literature searches conducted using PubMed and Ovid databases.
• Literature categorized based on CAD/CAM application: implant abutments, crowns, and frameworks.

Main Results:

• Eighteen articles met the inclusion criteria for the review.
• CAD/CAM crowns reported in 2 articles with a mean survival rate of 98.85%.
• CAD/CAM abutments (6 articles) showed a 100% mean survival rate, and CAD/CAM frameworks (10 articles) had a 95.98% mean survival rate.

Conclusions:

• CAD/CAM fabricated implant prostheses (crowns, abutments, frameworks) exhibit survival rates comparable to conventionally fabricated restorations.
• The fabrication technique does not appear to influence overall implant survival.
• The diversity in CAD/CAM manufacturing processes may necessitate a refined definition, such as "complete CAD/CAM product," to accurately describe restorations with minimal manual intervention.