Chair-side conversion: from cement-retained to a screw-retained implant-supported crown

Abstract

This article describes a clinical technique to modify a cement-retained, implant-supported crown into a screw-retained one. This technique allows expansion of the thick and dense soft tissue collar during prosthesis try-in and makes complete removal of excess cement possible. It also allows easy prosthesis retrieval in the future. Dental implants with a tapered implant-abutment internal connection are commonly used to create a thick and dense soft tissue collar for an aesthetic outcome. However, such a collar may prevent full seating of a cement-retained, implant-supported crown and it also makes the complete removal of excess cement difficult, hence a prosthesis misfit and subsequent peri-implant mucositis.