The Ankylos Dental Implant System was introduced into Korea in 1998 and has been used with good clinical results. This system was developed by professor G. H. Nentwig of Frankfurt University and professor W. Moser of Zurich University in 1985 and has been in clinical use with long-term data since 1987 in Germany. Reports showed a success rate of over 95.8% in Germany and 97.9% in Korea. Some of its significant design features include: (1) a progressive thread structure of the endosseous implant body for targeted load distribution to the apically positioned spongy bone; (2) the gap-free subgingival tapered connection to the abutments; (3) a narrow neck design which can maintain thick transmucosal gingiva around the abutment; and (4) all-in-one abutments which fit any fixtures with various length and diameter. Conventional submerged implantation or modified one-stage implantation and immediate loading with this system for many different types of prosthetic methods have been proved to be successful by the implant practitioners all over the world. The Ankylos dental implant system includes two abutment systems based on conical connectors. The first is the Standard Abutment System and the other is the Balance Abutment System. The main difference between the two systems lies in the technique of transferring the implant position into the laboratory. When using the Standard System, the dentist selects the position of the abutment and fits it prior to impression-taking in order to enable its position to be transferred to the laboratory on the master model. In the case of the Balance System, the position of the implant is transferred on the model, but the abutment is selected by the technician. The original abutment can be modified and the coping waxed-up directly on it. Some advantages of the Standard system are that it: is easy to handle due to its versatility, is highly cost-effective, is fitted easily into temporary restorations, and is open to various options for placing crowns and bridges. The Balance Abutment System strives to achieve excellent aesthetics for patients. In theory, all modern dental technical methods for fabricating aesthetic crowns and bridgeworks can be used on the design of the abutment resembling prepared natural teeth. The Balance Abutment is then adjusted by the technician in the dental laboratory and the crown is placed directly on it. This prevents selections of the abutment or crown margins from becoming visible. The abutment is screw-retained inside the mouth using a custom positioning index with pattern resin. The restoration can be screw-retained or cemented
onto the abutment in the mouth. The type of abutment indicated for the specific conditions can be selected regardless of implant diameter. All types of the abutment are compatible with all implants. Due to the design of these Balance Abutments and the fact that they can be combined as required, the crown can be provided with a cross-section corresponding to that of a natural tooth at the point of emergence through the mucosa. This is essential for pleasant aesthetics. Furthermore, the Cercon Balance abutment with Zirconia forms the perfect basis for creating outstanding aesthetics with implant-supported
restorations. Up until now, dentists and patients had mostly been interested only in the osseointergration of implants and restoration of masticatory function. Recently, expectations concerning dental aesthetics have increased. This presents itself as a new challenge for practitioners in implant dentistry. Pink aesthetics and re-contouring of good emergence profiles are key points in which practitioners must focus on. The Ankylos Dental Implant System provides various Balance
Abutments for anteriors and posteriors to achieve maximum aesthetic results; these include Balance Abutments with titanium alloys and Balance Abutments (Cercon) with Zirconia. Two cases on anterior regions which require the use of aesthetic dentistry are presented.
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