EAO symposium highlights JUVORA’s PEEK implant prostheses

Dr Carlos Moura-Guedes, Director of the MALO CLINIC in Lisbon, provided a clinician’s perspective on JUVORA PEEK-based frameworks. In his presentation, he discussed the promising short-term results of his ongoing prospective study regarding the material’s clinical applications. Showing the progress made by a number of patients fitted with JUVORA prostheses for full-arch rehabilitation, Moura-Guedes praised the high level of biocompatibility that this material possesses, drawing attention to the excellent gingival conditions enabled by its impressive osseointegration. “Bone responds very well to PEEK,” he told attendees. “We were very happy with the performance of PEEK. Patients have also responded favourably to it.”

Following Moura-Guedes was António Silva, also from the MALO CLINIC. Silva shared his laboratory experience with JUVORA in his presentation and detailed some of the problems his team had encountered upon first applying the polymer in the clinic’s patented All-on-4 protocol for rehabilitating completely edentulous patients. He stressed that these issues were easily resolved once his team became more familiar with the material behaviour of the JUVORA Dental Disc, as there were certain mistakes that occurred simply owing to the evolution of learning. In his presentation, Silva emphasised the processing of the disc effortlessly, quickly and precisely through CAD/CAM workflows. PEEK can be easily implemented within the laboratory approach in a more comfortable way. “PEEK meets the high-quality restoration requirement standards set by MALO CLINIC,” said Silva.

Dr Miguel de Araújo Nobre, Director of the MALO CLINIC’s Research & Development and Oral Hygiene departments, was the next expert to address the crowd. In his presentation, he demonstrated the potential for PEEK-based products like JUVORA to contribute to the long-term maintenance and successful outcomes for full-arch fixed prosthetic rehabilitation supported by implants in immediate function. The award-winning clinician highlighted the importance of understanding peri-implant pathologies prior to discussing peri-implantitis. He explained the risk assessment factors and recall recommendations to prevent implant failure. “Measure the risk, manage the risk, communicate the risk,” he said. As Nobre told the audience, peri-implant pathology has a combination of biological and biomechanical risk factors, and this risk score can ideally be reduced with the use of PEEK frameworks in restorative dentistry. “It is worth considering PEEK today. It could be the next periodontal ligament,” concluded Nobre.

To round up the symposium, pioneer in PEEK technology research Dr Bernd Siewert, of Clínica Somosaguas, outlined some of the key factors for ensuring long-term success when using JUVORA prostheses. With almost three decades of experience as a dentist, Siewert has specialised in metal-free dentistry since 2008, and in 2014, founded a dental laboratory that processes only PEEK-based prosthetic solutions. In his presentation, he spoke about the history of PEEK and presented some of his own clinical cases to highlight how the bone-like modulus of elasticity and impressive flexibility of a JUVORA bridge framework allow it to withstand enormous masticatory forces and bruxism in the long term. Siewert emphasised that CAD/CAM-fabricated bridge frameworks milled from this material possess no material faults, as they do not undergo any physical changes during processing. “After nine years of using PEEK, we have seen stable bone around the implants, stable PEEK frameworks, no fractures of direct-to-implant PEEK abutments and, finally, no chipping or wear with composite veneering. Only in some cases did we see occlusal wear using PMMA veneers,” said Siewert. “PEEK is not only a metal-free alternative, but a great material for full-arch metal implant-supported bridges.”

Overall, the symposium provided a valuable opportunity for those who attended to learn more about JUVORA implant prostheses and how this solution can be integrated into the workflow of a dental clinic or laboratory. As the speakers demonstrated, PEEK exhibits great flexibility, a low modulus of elasticity, outstanding capacity to absorb occlusal forces, a density of 1.3 g/cm3 and a water absorption of only 0.5 per cent. Its flexural strength and very low fatigue prevent fractures. Finally, the excellent biocompatibility of pure PEEK helps maintain healthy soft tissue and prevents corrosion. With the latest-generation PEEK material, dentists can offer prostheses with the important properties of being flexible and shock-absorbing while following a fully digital production.

For further information, dental professionals are invited to visit www.juvoradental.com/peekexpertclub and stop by the JUVORA booth (S32).

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