Fig. 1 SIMPLE CASE: 3-unit implant bridge cylinders that screw into the implants and act as positioning "flags" in the intraoral scan. These allow for the exact 3D position of the implants to be transferred to the virtual world. These digital impression copings are called scan bodies and are specific for each implant type and connection size of the implant utilized (Fig. 1). A 57-year-old healthy patient selfreferred to the practice because she was having issues with her existing fixed dental prosthesis (18/X/X/21/22) due to recurrent caries under abutment tooth #21, which had already been endodontically treated. The long-term prognosis of abutment tooth #21 was deemed to be poor, whereas the other abutment teeth appeared to have a fair prognosis (Figs. 2-4). CAD/CAM-milled final restorations Today, the abutment design, material choice (such as zirconia or lithium disilicate) and technical design (monolithic or layered) of the restoration can also be planned digitally before surgery. Soft tissues have been shown to react more favorably with the presence of a highly polished zirconia or titanium surface, so it's recommended that the area of an implant restoration that will be subgingival be composed of highly polished zirconia or titanium. Also, subgingival extension of ceramic restorative materials may not be as favorable. The use of CAD/CAM technology allows for the milling of final restorations in a more precise and repeatable fashion.14 Generally, implant restorations should be designed to reduce prosthetic complications such as chipping. With new innovations in restorative design, materials such as monolithic zirconia have become a reality and offer a very biocompatible option. A full-contour zirconia crown allows for the aesthetics of a tooth-colored material to be utilized with minimal porcelain layering on the buccal aspect for aesthetics. The following cases will demonstrate this. ■ Fig. 2 Fig. 3 Fig. 4 64 JUNE 2019 // dentaltown.comhttp://www.dentaltown.com