Dental News - Interview: Non-passive fit in immediate loading

Dental Tribune International

Fri. 1. March 2019

save

Dr Nicolas Agustin Rubio, a dentist both in private practice and involved in higher education, began his dual training in implantology and prosthodontics at the University of Buenos Aires in Argentina, where he received his specialisation in prosthodontics. Later, Rubio spent a year in Mexico City in Mexico completing a residency in implantology. There, together with Dr Alejandro Treviño Santos, he began investigating different immediate loading protocols in edentulous patients. In this interview, Rubio shares his insight on some of his recent work, in which he evaluated the influence of non-passively fitting prostheses on implant osseointegration and possible implant displacement during the healing period.

Dr Rubio, could you summarise in a few sentences what your findings were?
First of all, we were able to confirm that interim fixed prostheses obtained from complete dentures by a chairside pick-up technique resulted in a clear misfit, which was obviously associated with the use of a considerable amount of acrylic resin, as is often the case in these procedures. Although the prostheses were successfully attached to the implants, tension was applied to achieve the fit. After eight weeks and without any clinical intervention, this strain was released. During our final tests, we could confirm that, in all cases, implant position had changed while prosthetic structure was conserved.

For what reasons did you conduct this study, and how do you think it is relevant for the future treatment of edentulous patients?
During our immediate loading protocols, we noticed that tension was present when installing our interim prostheses. After the healing period was complete, we observed that one or even all of the components (acrylic resin, abutments, implants, screws) had adapted to achieve a passive fit and release said tension. Understanding that implant position can be guided by abutments in the interim prostheses can save us valuable time in fabricating the final prosthesis from these abutments rather than the implant position to obtain a passive fit—very important in final restorations and apparently not so necessary during immediate loading.

What do you intend working on next?
I would like to continue with this line of work and try to develop new digital protocols in which virtual planning would serve as a starting point for final prosthetic manufacturing. No analogue or digital impressions should be needed if we have the abutment position registered, as implants can displace to fit the desired prosthetic planning. Moreover, I’m studying the influence of different pontic designs on prosthetic maintenance and patient comfort to improve long-term results.

Thank you very much for the interview.

Editorial note: The study, titled “Influence of nonpassive fit in immediate loading: A pilot study”, was published in the 3/2018 issue of the Journal of Oral Science and Rehabilitation.

Tags:

To post a reply please login or register

How CAD/CAM affects immediate loading in implant dentistry

A graduate of Paris Descartes University (now the University of Paris), Dr Léon Pariente currently runs a private practice in the French capital that ...

Interview: “ISQ is one of the key indicators for immediate loading when desired”

Dr William Martin will be one of four speakers at the upcoming Osstell ISQ Online Symposium on 16 September. Martin, who is a prosthodontist and clinical ...

“We are not selling implants”—rethinking immediate dental implant loading

Immediate loading is increasingly being offered as a routine method in dental implant surgery. However, according to Dr Mauro Labanca, it should be handled ...

Immediate implant placement and immediate loading after a complicated tooth extraction

As implant dentistry continues to evolve to meet our patient’s demands for aesthetic tooth replacements with minimal downtime or inconvenience, the ...

Computer-aided, template-guided immediate implant placement and loading in the mandible

Computer-aided implantology (CAI) was introduced more than 25 years ago with the aim of facilitating implant planning and avoiding intra-operative ...

Interview: “It was clear that we wanted to participate in IDS, the leading dental event”

In two days, IDS will open its doors for the 39th time. Even though several major competitors in the dental industry will not be participating, visitors can...

Immediate loading protocols are supporting global expansion of dental implants

BURNABY, British Columbia, Canada: Immediate loading of dental implants, that is, placement of a restoration in occlusal function within 48 hours of ...

Straumann TLX: Immediate placement and loading in mandibular first molar position with follow-up

The following case report describes a successful immediate implant placement in a mandibular first molar position with Straumann TLX and an immediately ...

Conventional and immediate loading with final n!ce screw-retained crowns

Thanks to the very high accuracy of modern intra-oral scanners, excellent design software and reliable production systems, restoring an implant with a ...

Education

Live webinar
Mon. 15 September 2025
1:00 pm EST (New York)