A digital protocol to fabricate a maxillary bar-retained implant overdenture from a complete prosthesis using a...

Area of Science:

• Dental prosthetics
• Digital dentistry
• Implantology

Background:

• Fabricating implant overdentures requires precise bar fabrication.
• Digital workflows using intraoral scanners (IOS) can face challenges with implant position accuracy in edentulous arches.
• Compromised passivity due to inaccurate implant positioning can affect treatment outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a step-by-step digital protocol for fabricating a maxillary bar-retained implant overdenture.
• To address and overcome the challenge of implant position deviation during intraoral scanning.
• To ensure the passivity and accuracy of the definitive CAD-CAM bar overdenture.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing a reverse scanning technique with a duplicate prosthesis or interim denture containing scan analogs.
• Employing computer-aided design (CAD) software for digital bar design.
• Fabricating the definitive bar overdenture using computer-aided manufacturing (CAM).

Main Results:

• The described protocol enables the digital production of passive maxillary bar-retained implant overdentures.
• It provides a reliable method for verifying implant positions within a digital workflow.
• Successful fabrication of a definitive CAD-CAM bar overdenture is demonstrated.

Conclusions:

• A digital protocol using reverse scanning effectively addresses IOS inaccuracies for implant overdentures.
• This method ensures passive fit and accurate fabrication of CAD-CAM bar overdentures.
• Digital verification of implant positions is crucial for successful implant overdenture treatment.