Digital workflow for designing computer-aided design–computer-aided manufacturing custom abutments of immediate implants based on the natural emergence profile of the tooth to be extracted

Abstract

The aim of this report is to present a digital workflow technique to design a customized abutment for provisionalization of an immediate-placed implant based on the natural emergence profile of the tooth to be extracted. The workflow involves the combination of intraoral and CBCT scans, from which three-dimensional (3D) reconstructions of soft tissue and alveolar bone, as well as of the tooth to be extracted are obtained and exported as STL files. The files are imported to a computer-aided design (CAD) software, in which a virtual wax-up and custom abutment design are performed considering the natural emergence profile of the patient’s tooth prior to extraction. Since the customized abutment is digitally designed, it can also be used as a scan body, to be directly scanned intraorally after soft tissue healing around an interim implant restoration. The custom abutment digitally designed can be then produced by milling zirconia with an optimally chosen color, in accordance with the aesthetic needs of the patient.