Periodontal prosthesis in contemporary dentistry.

In the last 5 decades, the developments of osseointegrated titanium implants (since 1965) have led to the success of contemporary dentistry. Endosseous implant-supported restorations delivered in accordance with the traditional Branemark protocol have proven to be highly predictable. Today, implants are becoming increasingly common in dental care and provide more therapeutic options, but treatment planning and the sequencing of therapy are critical in implant-assisted and implant-supported cases. Implant prostheses give patients and dentists more options in treatment planning, but also present challenging decisions regarding implant surgery. In essence, the emerging thought is that teeth are expendable, as we now have implants to solve these problems. The fact that peri-implantitis is no simple problem to treat does not seem to affect many who hold that thought. In this article, the authors explain how to properly apply the periodontal prosthesis philosophy, concepts, principles, and techniques in contemporary dentistry. (This article is an update from the article was published in 2005) [1].

The impact of osseointegrated implants as an adjunct and alternative to conventional periodontal prosthesis.

In the last 4 decades, the developments of osseointegrated titanium implants have led to the success of contemporary dentistry. Endosseous implant-supported restorations delivered in accordance with the traditional Branemark protocol have proven to be highly predictable. Today, implants are becoming increasingly common in dental care and provide more therapeutic options, but treatment planning and the sequencing of therapy are critical in implant-assisted and implant-supported cases. Implant prostheses give patients and dentists more options in treatment planning, but also present challenging decisions regarding implant surgery. In this article, the author explains how to apply the periodontal prosthesis philosophy, concepts, principles, and techniques to the implant-supported prosthesis.

Use of a modified ovate pontic in areas of ridge defects: a report of two cases.

UNLABELLED: A modified design for ovate pontics is proposed to achieve the esthetic, functional, and hygienic requirements for fixed partial dentures. This design should aid the clinician in preparing the edentulous area, thus resulting in less discomfort for the patient because little to no ridge augmentation is required. The same emergence profile can be developed as with the classic ovate pontic design. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: A modified ovate pontic has the following advantages: excellent esthetics because it produces a correct emergence profile; fulfilled functional requirements; greater ease of cleaning as compared with the ovate pontic; an effective air seal, which eliminates air or saliva leakage; the appearance of a free gingival margin and interdental papilla; elimination or minimization of the "black triangle" between the teeth; and little or no ridge augmentation required prior to the final restoration.

Connective tissue graft: a classification for incision design from the palatal site and clinical case reports.

A classification system for connective tissue graft incisions is proposed. It categorizes the design of the palatal incision into three classes. In addition to the basic classification, two subclasses are mentioned in this article. Additional descriptions are included to further define the incision design. The use of such a classification should assist future communication among clinicians and researchers. This article presents representative clinical cases to aid the clinician in applying the classification for incision design from the palatal site.