The future owner of a beautiful smile is of little interest in fixing a fixed prosthesis, but meanwhile this is a very important component of treatment.
– Denis Sergeevich, what methods of fixation exist?
– It depends on what we attach the prosthesis or single crown to: a tooth or an implant. There is only one way to install a prosthesis on a tooth – cement fixation. Traditionally, the doctor fixes the crown on the patient’s turned tooth using special glue or dental cement. This method allows you to securely and almost permanently fix the crown. However, if we ever need to remove this structure, then it will not work without damaging it.
– Fine. If the patient has an implant, will the method of fixation be different?
– There are two fixing methods. I have already described one above, only the crown is attached not to the tooth, but to the implant, more precisely, to its structural element, the abutment. The second method is called screw fixation. An implant, unlike a tooth, has a thread onto which we screw the crown. In this case, if necessary, we can unscrew and easily remove the crown.
– When should it be done?
– For example, if we use a small number of implants in the edentulous jaw, then after about five years we observe changes in the bone tissue, a gap forms between the prosthesis and the gum. In such cases, cement fixation will not correct the situation, but with screw fixation, we can remove the prosthesis, add material and get a snug fit again. Thus, the doctor, having made a choice in favor of screw fixation, minimized the patient’s costs in the future.
– Is this method of fixation your favorite?
– You can love medicine, but you cannot love the method of fixation. Neither the patient nor the doctor has and cannot have preferences regarding the fastening of the crown. This is determined only by proven protocols, indications and contraindications.