Anatomy of a Cement Retained Implant Crown
by MichaelIt can be unexpectedly tricky to navigate a restoration if you’re undecided about whether to go with a screw retained or cement retained implant crown. You may be tempted to go with the old standby, screw retained, but don’t decide too quickly.
Though screw retained is the favorite child, it isn’t suited to every situation. Cement may have disadvantages, but it can also be the better option in certain scenarios. When making your decision, you have to take esthetics and functionality into account.
We’re here to smooth out the complications with this easy guide that explains what situations should lead you to choose cement retained implant restorations.
Advantages and Disadvantages of a Cement Retained Implant Crown
In our last blog on this topic, we talked about the ins and outs of screw retained. Now, we’re moving our focus to cement. As always, location of the implant plays a huge role in whether cement is ideal. Also, in situations where screw retained simply won’t work, cement is the only alternative.
Cement is going to be your best bet when you’re working with anterior cases. When restoring an anterior case, cement enables you to avoid screw emergence issues that compromise the esthetics. It also provides benefits like a passive fit of the implant crown, ideal occlusal form, and flexibility of fixture placement. It’s a great option especially for cases where mesial to distal space is a concern.
The downside is that your technique really has to be stellar here. You don’t want to leave cement behind that could contribute to implant failure. You may not have to deal with screw retained access holes, but you do have to thoroughly clean off the excess cement. Other downsides are the subgingival cement line and crown retention that may not be perfect.
How do you decide what to do when faced with this dilemma during your restoration cases? Please let us know your thoughts in the comments!
