Scannable Anatomically Shaped Healing Abutments

As a practitioner, prosthodontist Bradley Purcell, DDS, MS, is focused on all of the components of patient satisfaction. “The most important thing is always trying to provide the best possible care and results in the most comfortable environment possible,” he says. “In addition, it is important to follow patients in a consistent recare system in the years after treatment. My greatest satisfaction is to have happy patients with excellent results that last for years.”

Purcell’s practice, Spectrum Dental and Prosthodontics in Worthington, Ohio, leverages extensive technology to achieve the results he prioritizes. “Our practice, which has three prosthodontists, is a purely prosthodontic practice,” he says. “We do not perform any surgery. Within our facility, we have removeable, fixed, and digital laboratories that are supported by a variety of technologies, including a CBCT machine, several intraoral scanners, nine 3D printers, three mills, and a few different photogrammetry systems. We also have a lecture facility that can seat up to 90 participants, which enables us to host more than 150 hours of CE per year.”

Providing education has been a big part of how Purcell helped to build the practice to where it is today. “We built the practice by providing education and being a service to our area dentists and specialists,” he says. “Teaching both locally and nationally has been a large part of my career. In total, I have provided more than 4,000 hours of CE. Doing this has helped me foster great relationships, but it has also always driven me to be the absolute best provider that I could be. In that regard, providing education helps to keep me up to date on all of the new technology.”

This connection between education and technology is what initially drew Purcell to BioHorizons SmartShape™ Healers, which he has been using since they were released last fall. “I’ve been providing education on digital technology since 2008,” he says. “This entire time, I’ve been lecturing on scannable healing cap technologies, so naturally, it was very intriguing to see a company bring to market what we had spent years asking for—anatomically shaped, scannable healing abutments. I was excited to say the least.”

SmartShape Healers come in various anatomically contoured profiles that replicate natural tooth shapes to promote more esthetic tissue shaping. Once placed, SmartShape Healers can be scanned or impressed to transfer the implant position to a model. Then, custom abutments can be milled to match the anatomical profile of each Healer to maintain the tissue contour with the final restoration. “After using digital scan bodies and teaching about them for almost 20 years, I was excited that a company had finally realized the importance of appropriately shaping the tissue in the transition zone from the dental implant to the restoration,” Purcell says. “This area has been all but totally abandoned by our profession. Site-specific healing is something that we should be addressing during the healing phase when the implant is integrating—not during provisionalization—and not only in the anterior but also the posterior region. Site-specific healing enables an implant restoration to better mimic a natural tooth instead of producing a “pumpkin-on-a-stick” effect. This pumpkin-on-a-stick effect creates a poor-looking restoration and a natural food trap in the most vulnerable area, which is at the CEJ or root surface of the adjacent tooth. The use of SmartShape Healers combined with immediate implant placement minimizes the food trapping effect and protects the adjacent teeth. And it should go without saying that the esthetic results are outstanding.”

Purcell notes that the scannable titanium surface of SmartShape Healers helps to streamline his workflow. “These titanium abutments start the gingival healing and shaping process from the time of placement, but unlike traditional healing abutments, their ‘occlusal’ surfaces are matte and designed for very accurate and quick scanning,” he says. “Scanners have a very easy time reading the surface when compared with polished titanium surfaces. And because SmartShape Healers are titanium, unlike PEEK scan bodies, they can be radiographed to ensure complete seating. This is very important for an anatomically shaped prosthetic because interference with the osseous structures can prevent seating.”

According to Purcell, another advantage of SmartShape Healers that streamlines his workflow is their ability to facilitate single-instance abutment removal and placement. “When SmartShape Healers are leveraged ideally in the anterior, we are able to bypass the tissue-shaping provisional,” he says. “This eliminates a lot of appointments and all of the extra steps associated with provisionalization. And most importantly, it maximizes the preservation of the soft and hard tissues. Moreover, because the Vulcan Custom Dental custom abutments are designed in the shape of the SmartShape Healers, they easily self-seat with no pressure on the tissue, making delivery much more predictable and comfortable for the patient.”

Purcell’s partnership with BioHorizons began years ago when he became dissatisfied with another top-tier implant system that he had been using. “We found that BioHorizons met and exceeded our expectations in all areas,” he says. “They are a US-based company, which we are very proud of, and many of the developers and team members have been there since its inception, so communication with the company is exceptional.” For clinicians who are considering SmartShape Healers, Purcell emphasizes the superior results that can be achieved. “Once you realize what you’ve been missing out on, you’ll ask yourself why you’ve been placing round healing caps all this time,” he says. “You’ll enjoy the process and the incredible results. They are unparalleled.”

Key Points

• Anatomically shaped titanium healing abutments feature matte surfaces for easy scanning and an all-metal design for radiographic verification.

• Facilitates site-specific healing with six anatomical emergence profiles to optimize gingival contouring for improved esthetics.

• Streamlines restorative workflows and reduces chairtime to improve efficiency and patient satisfaction.

• Supports digital and traditional impression-taking for a profile-matched custom final abutment.

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