Implant abutments have come a long way over the last twenty years.  The first abutments that were made available came only in predetermined heights and provided very few options.  Later, angled abutments were provided by implant manufactures, however their uses were restricted due to the limited number of predetermined angles that were available.  Implant manufacturers recognized these limitations and developed the castable abutment, which comprised of a machined fit gold alloy base with a plastic sleeve commonly referred to as a UCLA Abutment.

The UCLA Abutment was a giant leap forward in making more aesthetic and more retentive implant restorations.  It allowed the clinician to customize for each implant and situation, the emergence profile, crown margin depth, and abutment angulations.  The fact that the abutment was still all-metal is one of its major drawbacks.

Today we have available a wider selection of custom components that allow us maximum flexibility in aesthetic situations regardless of implant manufacturer.  Procera Custom Abutments, available for both the Branemark and Replace Select implant lines, can now be made from sintered Zirconia. Providing the benefits of superior strength with a warm tooth shade emerging from the gingiva, makes these abutments an ideal choice.

In a situation where custom all-Zirconia abutments are not available, we still have other options that work equally well.  They provide great strength, with the ability for more natural emergence profiles without the graying of the gums.  We are able to take the gold based UCLA Abutments, that most implant companies provide, cast them to their ideal shape and contour for our situation, and then create the labial margin area by baking porcelain directly onto them.  With this technique we get the strength and fit of a machined metal abutment with the aesthetics of an all-ceramic abutment.

Consider now the many options you have available the next time you are faced with an aesthetics situation involving implants.  Be sure to use our 15 years of experience restoring dental implants to your advantage.