The use of polytetrafluoroethylene tape for the management of screw access channels in implant-supported prostheses
This article describes a procedure in which polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) tape is used to seal the screw access channel to protect the screw head of the abutment and crown screw in implant-supported restorations. The material can be sterilized, is easy to manipulate, radiopaque, and less associated with malodor when retrieved. Malodor is primarily associated with the implant-abutment interface configuration and the suprastructure component design of a given implant system. This technique enables fast removal of the filling material in a single piece, preventing unpredictable and time-consuming manipulations when removal of the screw-retained crown or abutment is required.
Contributing authors Pierre C. Baehni, DMD, Prof Dr Med Dent, Professor, Department of Preventive Dentistry, and María J. Sandoval, DMD, Resident, Department of Preventive Dentistry, from the University of Geneva School of Dental Medicine.
aResident, Department of Fixed Prosthodontics and Occlusion, School of Dental Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
bProfessor and Chairman, Department of Fixed Prosthodontics and Occlusion, School of Dental Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
Corresponding author: Dr Osvaldo D. Moráguez, Department of Fixed Prosthodontics and Occlusion, School of Dental Medicine, University of Geneva, 19 rue Barthélemy-Menn-CH 1205, Geneva, SWITZERLAND, Fax: 0041-0223794052
ABSTRACT