Straumann® BLX Implant Ideal for Immediacy Protocols
Compendium features peer-reviewed articles and continuing education opportunities on restorative techniques, clinical insights, and dental innovations, offering essential knowledge for dental professionals.
September 1, 2020
Volume 41, Issue 8, September 2020
Page(s): p. 436
It's an exciting, albeit a bit stressful, time for Sonia Leziy, DDS, Dipl Perio, who recently moved to Vancouver Island, British Columbia, and started a new multidisciplinary private practice with the goal of offering progressive and innovative treatment options to her new community. An accomplished clinician and educator with more than 25 years' experience and expertise in regenerative periodontal and implant-related surgical procedures, Leziy says technology and state-of-the-art care are central elements in her new practice. "My new clinic will be driven by a thirst for improvement with strong fundamental values that come from experience."
Among the contemporary products in Leziy's armamentarium are Straumann® BLX implants. A long-standing user of bone-level/tapered implants for their primary stability characteristics and restorative versatility in the esthetic zone, Leziy considers immediacy where possible, both surgically and restoratively. "In the anterior, the BLX implant design offers a greater opportunity to achieve optimal implant stability and allows for excellent esthetics with suitable transmucosal materials and restorative flexibility with one implant connection across the product line with two prosthetic platforms. It also provides angled screw correction when necessary to avoid cementation," she says. "Similarly, BLX implants allow me to use the immediate placement approach more routinely in the replacement of multi-rooted teeth." BLX's one connection for all diameters simplifies the process and inventory for her referring restoring dentists, she adds.
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For Leziy, indications for BLX include "immediacy for single or small-span restorations and full-arch cases that are being edentulated for fixed prostheses, such as Straumann® Pro Arch." Although she uses this implant primarily in immediacy cases, she notes it can also be used in healed post-extraction sites.
Notable benefits of the BLX, according to Leziy, include Straumann's patented SLActive® implant surface technology with proven advantages for increased bone-implant contacts, and Roxolid® composition, which allows the use of smaller implant diameters and offers potential osseointegration benefits. Also, a wide range of implant sizes are available to accommodate unique ridge topographies. Additionally, she says Straumann's VeloDrills™ reduce heat generation, "which is particularly important in static guided surgery where irrigation may be more challenging."
"With a focus on idealized treatment planning using a digital workflow, good surgical technique, and appropriate patient and case selection, this implant has been very successful with no implant failures or complications in more than 1 year of use," Leziy says. Use of BLX implants has allowed her to maintain high treatment success and predictability while expanding treatment applications. She's been able to treat more cases with an "immediacy focus" with this implant system that offers optimal primary stability than she would have with other options, she notes. Also, utilizing the same implant connection allows her to alter the diameter of implant used in surgery without compromising the prosthetic plan and to use prefabricated prosthetic components.
Leziy incorporates BLX implants into her digital workflow, partnering with technicians by outsourcing some of the work to support her busy surgical practice. "I experience fewer surgical errors and achieve improved placement precision and accuracy relative to planning. This translates into better restorative results for my referring colleagues. The workflow also saves time and reduces stress in surgery," she explains. "We are able to communicate the anticipated outcome with patients and discuss potential challenges before surgery starts."
Leziy highly recommends the BLX implant for clinicians who are comfortable with immediacy concepts. "It has proven in up to 15 months of follow-up to both handle well clinically and show favorable bone/soft-tissue responses in the post-treatment follow-up period."
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