Pro Arch Solution Makes Screw-Retained Hybrids Easier
When Straumann decided to develop a comprehensive solution for fixed, screw-retained hybrid restorations that involved every member of the dental treatment team, it was only natural that it required every member of the Straumann management team to work together.
“When we started out to launch this solution, we got together as a team,” says Jorge Pages, Senior Marketing Manager, Digital Solutions. “Our restorative product managers, our laboratory product managers, our surgical product managers – we all came together as a team.
“While Straumann has always had solutions for fixed, full-arch prostheses, product development for the most recent components of Straumann Pro Arch has been in the works for some time. The Screw-Retained Abutments (SRA) were released to market in 2014. The goal was to create a versatile, yet streamlined prosthetic portfolio, and I think we've achieved that.”
The result was Straumann’s Pro Arch solution, which allows laboratories and restorative dentists to get involved with full-arch, implant-supported fixed restorations. The Pro Arch solution includes implants, abutments, CAD/CAM frameworks, and sleek prosthetic components that allow dentists and technicians to provide accelerated fixed full-arch treatments. This scientifically proven implant technology is complemented by a diverse prosthetic portfolio of abutments and customized bars. The Straumann Pro Arch prosthetic solution includes the addition of bone level, screw-retained abutments that offer a wide range of prosthetic options for screw-retained restorations. With their low profile and variety of angulations and gingiva heights, screw-retained abutments offer exceptional flexibility to provide individual solutions that include restoring tilted posterior implants. Custom-milled bar options for final restorations can be designed on abutment level, implant level, or a combination of the two. Through Straumann’s open CAD/CAM system and CARES Scan & Shape Service, every dental laboratory can offer Straumann customized bars to complete the Pro Arch solution.
“The growing market for fixed immediate restorations continues to fuel Straumann's commitment to develop innovative and comprehensive solutions for all members of the dental treatment team,” Pages says.
A new bone-level tapered implant was also launched in conjunction with the Pro Arch solution. The Bone Level Tapered Implant is designed to provide excellent primary stability and flexibility in challenging clinical and anatomical situations. Additionally, while Straumann has offered solutions for fixed full-arch cases in the past, it recently released new components in addition to the tapered implant.
“The new SRA abutment system allows us to attach provisional hybrids via the titanium coping, and we also have customized bar solutions for either a hybrid fixed or overdenture bar,” says Charles Vincent, Marketing Manager – Restorative for Straumann.
Pages adds, “Our new bone-level tapered Implant further expanded our product offering to help facilitate implant placement in challenging anatomical scenarios. The CrossFit connection and surface technology of both the bone-level tapered and bone-level implant are identical, which helps to simplify things for all parties involved. In addition to Straumann's previous complement of CAD/CAM prosthetics, new popular bar and framework designs for the final prosthesis are available. These substructures can be custom designed by laboratories with Straumann CARES or Dental Wings software. Laboratories without the necessary software still can receive a custom designed bar through Straumann's Scan and Shape service located in Arlington, Texas.”
Pages says laboratories can take advantage of the Pro Arch solution by coordinating with their entire team.
“They need to get involved with the Straumann dental team and the Straumann laboratory team, and they need to get together with a surgeon and restorative dentist who can all work together,” Pages says. “There are a lot of moving parts and pieces, and a lot of coordination that needs to happen.” To aid the treatment team in understanding how to incorporate the screw-retained hybrid solution into their repertoire, Straumann is hosting a dozen education sessions across North America dedicated to this topic.
The result, Vincent says, should be evident in the patient’s mouth.
“There are a number of patient-centric benefits a result of the Pro Arch treatment,” Vincent says. “When good primary stability of all implants is achieved, the provisional prosthesis can be immediately loaded, which means the patient could go home with teeth the day of surgery. This helps to reduce postoperative discomfort, which often accompanies the use of a traditional removable interim prosthesis. In certain scenarios, the utilization of Straumann's bone-level tapered implant could help the clinician to avoid bone grafting procedures, which reduces the overall treatment time as well.”
For more information, visit straumannproarch.com.
