Trial placement

Trial placement - functional and esthetic evaluation

The trial placement appointment is a significant one for successful edentulous patient care. It will be the first time that dentist and patient can see what has been created in the laboratory; and a decision will then be one of acceptance, modification or change. Mutual satisfaction with the provisional waxed result regarding occlusion, function and esthetics should be reached before additional clinical steps are taken e.g. fabrication of frameworks or processing the prosthesis.

The tooth arrangement provides a tangible orientation index of the teeth’s spatial positions in relation to each edentulous arch – an essential step for designing a framework and the final prosthesis. This clinical visualization addresses both dentist and patient mediated esthetic and technical concerns. It employs the laboratory prepared provisional teeth arrangement on an articulator, thereby simulating jaw and teeth contact movement relationships and movement.

Framework trial placement for definitive prosthesis

An important consideration during the maxillo-mandibular relations and trial placement appointments relates to the planning of an implant fixed prosthesis, where the bulk of implant components and proposed framework must be accommodated in the context of interocclusal space. This may eventually affect teeth selection for these specific sites as well as framework design. Once the patient has approved the tooth arrangement, framework fabrication can begin. In comparison to cast techniques, CAD/CAM production provides advantages regarding precision, passive fit of the framework, and material selection. This is achieved by scanning the template of the proposed framework made in resin. The information from the scanning is used to design and fabricate the framework using a computer numerical controlled (CNC) milling process. The clinician has the option of choosing Titanium, a metal alloy, or zirconia as the framework material.