LOCATOR R-Tx® Offers New Angle

Increased Angle correction improves leading line of attachments

Steve Spoon, CDT

I am a Navy-trained dental technician with 45 years of experience, and in the 28 years since I opened Miracle Dental Lab, it has become the largest privately owned laboratory in Houston, Texas. We are a full-service laboratory specializing in, among other things, full-arch prostheses.

LOCATOR^® attachments have proven extremely useful over the years for us. However, they typically had an inherent problem with the titanium nitride coating and/or the retentive aspect wearing off the abutment after 5 or 6 years, requiring a replacement abutment. The LOCATOR R-Tx Attachment System from Zest Dental Solutions eliminates that problem with a new titanium carbon nitride coating.

LOCATOR R-Tx utilizes a double-snap system that provides a greater divergence without wearing the coating. It has the ability to correct up to 30º and 60º between two implants, making it possible to treat a wider range of cases. The overall interocclusal space is between 8 to 10 mm, so there is much more freedom in the types of prostheses that can be utilized, whereas other attachments limit the options because of the height of the abutments and/or the parts and pieces. There is no need for implant bars with LOCATOR R-Tx. This provides significant cost savings, as a titanium overdenture bar can cost four times what a LOCATOR R-Tx System costs.

I can use LOCATOR R-Tx with con­fidence because Zest Dental Solutions' LOCATOR line has been my go-to attachment for more than a decade. The ease, simplicity, overall wearability, and nylon inserts provide much more use and longevity than other attachments do. If the patient wants to move up in retention, four different retentive values are available for the inserts. When we fabricate a maxillary prosthesis with four LOCATOR Attachments for a person with weak fingers or poor dexterity, we can start with a gray, which basically has zero retention, but it is possible to go all the way up to clear, which has about 5 pounds of retention. There are so many choices, all without the problems that occur with other attachments—and I have tried every one that's been on the market over the past 45 years.

The established reliability and ease of use, combined with the new divergence offered by the LOCATOR R-Tx System help my laboratory continue to do what has made us successful over the past 28 years: provide our dentists and their patients with the highest-quality restorations possible.

Key Takeaways

› Ability to angle-correct up to 30° and 60° between two implants, thus able to treat a wider range of cases
› No need for bars
› Pivoting of the housings during mastication keeps the overdenture stable
› Same restorative technique as the LOCATOR, so no new processes to learn
› Overall ease of use

About the Author

Steve Spoon, CDT
Owner
Miracle Dental Lab
Houston, TX

Distributor Information
Zest Dental Solutions
zestdent.com
800-262-2310