Pesky Screw Access for Implants

By Steve Ratcliff, D.D.S., M.S.

Hate stuffing cotton pellets into implant screw access? Tired of squirting light bodied impression material into those same openings and then trying to clean it up?

Here is a very quick and easy solution that will make life much easier.

Go to your favorite hardware store and buy a couple of rolls of plumber’s tape, yes of course you ask them for the sterile rolls. (This is my attempt at journalistic humor.) Your total investment should be less than $2 per roll.

When you are ready to protect your implant screw access opening, simply tear off one to two inches of the tape and roll it into a tight ball. Using a cotton plier push it into the screw opening and compress it tightly. The tape is easy to manipulate and you can form it against the walls of the abutment cylinder to completely cover the top of the screw.

If the time comes that you need to access the screw again, cut away the restorative material until you expose the tape and then hook it with an explorer and it will lift out easily. Fast, easy, simple!

The Gateway to Great Dentistry Dentistry’s Most Innovative Online Learning Resource

Membership to Spear Online provides your entire practice team with:

PATIENT EDUCATION Make chairside case presentation more engaging with our new tablet app, or stream animated videos to your lobby monitors via Fire TV Stick and Apple TV — options designed to empower even the most hesitant patient to take ownership of their oral health.

CLINICIAN EDUCATION Increase your skills and earn continuing education credits on your own schedule with more than 1,500 clinical and practice management lessons presented by dentistry’s most respected clinicians. TEAM TRAINING AND MEETING RESOURCES Utilize tools designed for your front office, hygienists and assistants. When your staff understands and communicates the value of the dentistry you provide, patients are better informed and more receptive to accepting treatment.

SPEAR TALK Connect with thousands of like-minded colleagues in a safe, supportive, clinicianonly environment meticulously monitored by Spear faculty and contributing authors to find answers to any clinical or practice challenge.

Discover how Spear Online impacts your entire practice: 855.625.2333 | online@speareducation.com | speareducation.com/spear-online

25