The Digital One-Abutment/One-Time Concept. A Clinical Report

Area of Science:

• Dentistry
• Digital Fabrication
• Prosthodontics

Background:

• Digital fabrication of dental restorations on implants is now standard.
• Avoiding abutment changes improves prosthetic treatment outcomes.
• Traditional protocols can involve multiple steps and potential complications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe a digital workflow for implant-supported single crowns.
• To demonstrate a model-free fabrication process from implant placement to final crown delivery.
• To highlight the benefits of a one-abutment/one-time approach in digital dentistry.

Main Methods:

• Intraoral scanning of implant position immediately after placement, before wound closure.
• Digital fabrication of a screw-retained crown without a physical model.
• Insertion of the definitive restoration after bone healing, allowing soft tissue maturation around the final crown.

Main Results:

• A two-appointment procedure was completed for an implant-supported single crown.
• Stable soft tissues were achieved with minimal surgical intervention.
• The digital approach avoided abutment or healing cap changes, simplifying the process.

Conclusions:

• The described digital workflow offers a biologically advantageous, one-abutment/one-time solution for implant restorations.
• Digital fabrication provides financial and clinical benefits compared to analog techniques.
• This method facilitates customized, full-contour screw-retained or cemented crowns.