Heirloom Diamond Adds Sparkle to New Smile

This patient presented with an implant placed in the #6 and #4 positions and was missing tooth #7. Tooth #4 was restored with a cement-retained e.max crown over a custom titanium abutment. However, for #6, the patient had an unusual request: he had an heirloom diamond that had belonged to a relative and wanted it embedded into the restoration.

We fabricated a custom titanium abutment with an angled screw channel for the #6 implant; we then designed and fabricated a cantilevered e.max bridge and sent it off for shade verification, fit and function check, and approval of diamond placement. No major adjustments were needed, so we proceeded to complete the bridge. We applied metal primer and GC America’s light-cure opaque to help mask the titanium stump, cemented the bridge to the abutment and carefully bonded the diamond to the facial surface of #6. Patient has since been in for a checkup and loves his restorations! Collaboration with John Alan Smith, DDS, Kingsport, TN.

~ Thomas O’Neil, President, Harmony Dental Creations, Elizabethton, TN