implants international magazine of oral implantology

denture.Thistreatmentgreatlyimprovesbothmasticatoryefficiencyandfunction in patients. Over the last two decades, attempts have been made to render the im- plant-retained overdenture the standard treatment for edentulism,1 as demon- strated most recently by the McGill consensus.2 Prosthetic failure, usually loss of retention, and the technical difficulties en- countered when relining or changing stud attachments proved to be major nega- tivefactorsindentists’attitudestowardsthistreatmentmodality.Severalattempts were made to redesign and improve the attachments; however, owing to previous negative experiences, most dentists became reluctant to adopt implant-retained overdentures as a routine treatment option. The push to place more implants in an attempttoimprovethesituationledtothebar-andclip-retainedoverdenturesce- nario. This technique was more successful but still encountered similar issues to the stud-attachment overdentures.3 Poor stress transmission from the prosthesis to the supporting implants results in bone loss around the implants (especially the most distal implants in the multi- ple bar scenario), in addition to prosthetic and surgical complications.4 This re- sultedinimplantcompaniesandcliniciansmovingawayfromthetwoimplant-re- tained overdenture treatment option in favour of fixed solutions, such as round- house bridges fixed on four or more implants. As a result, the vast majority of pa- tients cannot access implant therapy owing to financial constraints. The McGill consensus brought the implant-retained overdenture back into the spotlight as a way of increasing access to implant dentistry and improving patients’ quality of life. Improved component manufacturing techniques, and greater care and atten- tion to both surgical and restorative treatment planning have significantly im- proved treatment outcomes using overdentures.5 RecentlyCendres+MétauxintroducedtheStressFreeImplantBar,orSFI-Bar,to thedentalcommunity.Thisunique,implant-platform-independentrestorativebar overdenture solution allows the fabrication of a true passive-fit bar and clip sys- tem on two or more implants (Fig. 1). Finite element studies and clinical evaluation of the system have found minimal stress transmission from the prosthesis to the implantsunderloading(Figs.2a–c),withmoststressesbeingevenlydistributedbe- tween the supporting implants. Vertical loads are transmitted effectively to the supportingimplants,whileundesirablelateralstressesarelargelyeliminated.More recent clinical studies have also shown it to be a viable immediate-loading treat- mentsolution.Thetechniqueisinitsinfancy,solong-term(fiveyearsormore)data is not available. The SFI-Bar is a modular system that connects multiple dental im- plants with no soldered or laser-welded joints. Fig. 4b Fig. 5 bionicstickygranules Degradable Solutions AG A Company of the Sunstar Group Wagistrasse 23 CH-8952 Schlieren/Zurich www.easy-graft.com Ingenious: Simple handling and accelerated osteocon- duction for long-term volume preservation. easy-graft® CRYSTAL AD