Implant in Narrow Pontic
A 59-year-old lady had a brain stem tumor removed ~ 20 years ago. The surgery left her tongue paralyzed (cranial nerve #12). She mainly chews on the right side. Porcelain has been chipped from #2 crown and #3 retainer. Treatment plan includes removal of #4 pontic (Fig.2 CT coronal section (B: buccal)), implant placement (Fig.1), and crown placement at #2-4 once the implant osteointegrates. Since the ridge at #4 is narrow buccopalatally, a 3 mm 1-piece angled (15°) implant is to be placed. Use the corresponding 3 mm tissue punch for access after palpation of the ridge. Bone density in the area is low (-300 to 300 Hounsfield units). Underprep is a must.
Return to Upper Premolar Immediate Implant Xin Wei, DDS, PhD, MS 1st edition 11/08/2015, last revision 08/02/2018