Connecting Teeth to Implants: Risky Proposition or Predictable Solution?

While a natural tooth has a certain degree of mobility thanks to the periodontal ligament, implants, by definition, are ankylosed to the bone. Is it therefore possible to reconcile these two realities by combining them in a single fixed prosthetic structure or should we avoid it all costs? This lecture will give the scientific background to explain why this connection can be considered safe. At the same time, it will address the clinical and technical challenges when doing so, illustrating long-term outcomes of the different solutions employed.

1. Why it is possible to connect natural teeth to implants?
2. Which are the possible technical solutions to connect teeth and implants?
3. Which are the potential complications and causes of failure of these solutions.

Presenters

Stefano Gracis, DMD

Dr. Gracis received his degrees from the University of Pennsylvania in 1986, University of Pavia in 1987 and the University of Washington in 1990. He works in Milan in private practice limiting his activity to prosthodontics and restorative dentistry. He is the Past President of the European Academy of Esthetic Dentistry and of the Italian Academy of Prosthetic Dentistry. Dr. Gracis also has served on the editorial boards of the International Journal of Prosthodontics and the International Journal of Esthetic Dentistry.

Frank Spear, DDS, MSD

Dr. Spear is the founder of Spear Education in Scottsdale Arizona, he earned his dental degree from the University of Washington in 1979, and an MSD in periodontal prosthodontics in 1982, also from the University of Washington.