Order in Re-seating Healing Abutments: A Small Difference, a Big Comfort
Introduction
In implant treatments, removing the healing abutments for impression-taking or intraoral scanning is one of the common but delicate steps.
When the number of implants is high, or the position of some is deeper than others, this simple step can become a source of pain and discomfort for the patient.
️ The key point
When a healing abutment is removed, the gingival tissue around it remains like an open wound.
As a result, if during re-seating the healing abutments are placed in the wrong positions — for example, a thick healing abutment in the place of a thin one — the patient feels considerable pain and pressure at that very moment, because that area had already adapted to the specific form of the previous healing abutment.
The practical solution
When we have several implants and the healing abutments are to be removed:
- 1. Order on the tray: Arrange the healing abutments on the tray precisely and in the order of their positions. The best practice is to maintain a defined order for each region from the very start (for example, from the posterior right to the posterior left).
- 2. Return to origin: After finishing the scan or impression, re-seat each healing abutment exactly in its own place. This ensures the patient feels minimal pain during re-seating, and the step is carried out faster and more easily.
️ Conclusion
This is a simple but highly effective detail in implantology.
Re-seating the healing abutments in an orderly way in their original places makes a clear difference in patient comfort and the quality of the clinical experience — without the need for any special tool or technique, simply through order.
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