Category Spotlight: Maximizing Possibilities for Implant Placement

It’s difficult to “shock” a profession in which innovation and technologies evolve incrementally over time. However, in 1985, Bicon managed to do just that with the introduction of SHORT Implants. At the time, most other implants were at least 12 mm to 14 mm and sometimes 18 mm to 20 mm long. The 8.0 mm height of Bicon’s SHORT Implant was nothing short of revolutionary.

Driven by simplicity, Bicon SHORT Implants allowed clinicians to avoid vital structures with confidence and eliminated the need for many bone-grafting procedures. The premise seemed simple enough, but the engineering was challenging. In order for the implants to be successful, they would have to biocompatibly transfer the occlusal forces on the prosthetic restoration to surrounding bone to improve the efficiency and reliability of the implant design.

This challenge couldn’t be met with a single design feature, but rather the integration of 3 features: a 1.5° locking taper that provides a stable connection and bacterial seal; the implant’s sloping shoulder, which provides space for bone over the implant while distributing occlusal stresses and preserving crestal bone; and a plateau design that offers 30% more surface area, callus bone formation, and cortical-like Haversian bone between the fins with no splinting necessary.

In fact, Bicon SHORT Implants are designed to gain bone. They also allow clinicians to avoid the sinuses and to stay away from the inferior alveolar, minimizing the risk of injuring vital structures. Another advantage of Bicon SHORT Implants is that they provide room for the interdental papillae to grow, providing ideal and long-lasting gingival esthetics.

Although the large crown-root ratio of the Bicon SHORT Implant goes against what many dentists are taught, it’s important to remember that implants are not teeth. They do not have a periodontal ligament, and instead are ankylosed to the bone. Therefore, conventional rules about crown-root ratios do not apply to Bicon SHORT Implants. Clinical tests have shown that the survival rates of short implants are comparable to normal implants with a cumulative survival rate of 97.58% over a 4-year period.*

Overall, Bicon SHORT Implants offer flexibility in challenging situations. While bone grafting can help to alleviate certain risks associated with implant placement, patients may avoid treatment because of financial costs, time for grafting procedures, and extended healing time. Bicon SHORT Implants can help dentists and patients overcome such obstacles.

* bicon.com/news/pdf/Reality_for_complex_cases.pdf