Joe Jennings, CDTOver the past few years I’ve had many discussions with technicians about milled bars; some are excited about the technology while others are apprehensive. Some technicians are intrigued by the concept of virtually designed bridges but they haven’t been fully satisfied with the result or they’re concerned about the design limitations, generic features and loss of control over esthetics and quality of their work.
The Vericore system for the fabrication of overdenture and hybrid bars combines traditional custom dental technology skills and artistry with the accuracy of digital milling, allowing for what I believe to be the best of both worlds in today’s technology. With Vericore, a successful outcome is predictable and, as a result, soldering and laser welding is rendered obsolete.
For more information, call Whip Mix Corp. Dental Technology Solutions at 866-301-9801 or visit www.vericoresystem.com.
Below is the Vericore Process:
Step 1: Once the denture has been tried-in and the accuracy of the analog model verified, use a putty matrix to aid in the proper positioning of the bar. To be certain there is enough clearance for processing the denture, you can remove the teeth from the wax and affix them to the putty matrix.
Step 2: Finger-tighten the waxing cylinders (available from Vericore) to the analogs in the soft-tissue master model with the appropriate screws.
Step 3: Although you can use wax, bars made from self-polymerizing or light-cured resins maintain the greatest stability during transportation to the Vericore milling facility.
Step 4: Place the putty matrix (with the denture teeth attached) on the model to confirm there is enough clearance for processing the final denture when the milled bar is completed.
Step 6: The model and bar pattern are scanned with the 3Shape Scanner.
Step 7: The model is then mounted on a Coordinate Measuring Machine (CMM) and platform-specific measuring cylinders are placed in the analogs. Using a contact probe, the exact platform height and angle (long axis) of each analog is determined.
Step 8: The digitally scanned information and the CMM data are sent independently to the milling station where both files are combined. Macros are assigned and tool paths are reviewed, after which the files are sent to the Vericore titanium milling machine.
THE RESULT: A truly custom implant-supported bar with a dimensional accuracy of ≤ 8 microns.