Utilizing a digital impression technique to capture soft tissue development of an edentulous ovate pontic site

INTRODUCTION

Tissue engineering of edentulous sites is critical to the final restoration emergence and to gain optimal soft tissue fill of the adjacent embrasures. According to Salama et al (1998), a well contoured ovate pontic can allow tissue to fill embrasure spaces between a tooth and a pontic or between two pontic sites. Improper transfer of these idealized tissue contours beneath a pontic to an analog cast or a digital impression can lead toan unsatisfactory Pink Esthetic Score with inadequate embrasure fill by soft tissue(Belser, 2009). According to Li et al (2019), soft tissue collapses once the restoration is removed and a direct impression of the edentulous site is made. Donovan et al (2004) described a technique for accurately capturing the intaglio tissue contours of an ovate provisional site and transferring it to master cast.

Utilizing a digital workflow for CADCAM restorations is widely used but it does not allow for accurate replication of the gingival contours due to soft tissue collapse. Using a combination of analog and digital technologies, capturing an accurate impression of the pontic site soft tissues without the risk of alteration of its shape may be achievable. In this study, both analog and digital techniques were hybridized to achieve the desired results.