Intraoral Laser Welding (ILW) in Implant Prosthetic Dentistry: Case Report

Abstract

The aim of this clinical study was to describe the possibility of using the Nd:YAG laser device utilized in the dental offices to weld metals intraorally. The authors, before applying this technique “in vivo” on human subjects, tested the “in vitro” metal welding efficacy of dental Nd:YAG device firstly by interferometry, SEM, and EDS and subsequently by thermal camera and thermocouples in order to record temperature changes during the welding process on bovine jaws. Four implants were inserted in the edentulous maxillary arch of a 67 years old male patient. Immediately after that, a bar previously made by the dental technician was intraorally welded to the abutments by Nd:YAG laser (Fidelis Plus III, Fotona, Slovenia) with these parameters: 9.90 mJ, 1 Hz, 15 msec, 0.6 mm spot. Then the prosthesis was connected to the bar with four OT Caps. This clinical study, even if preliminary, suggests that laser welding technique may be intraorally used without side effects.

The ball welding bar: a new solution for the immediate loading of screw-retained, mandibular fixed full arch prostheses

“…In particular, in their clinical report [7] preceded by an in vitro evaluation, the authors proved that the use of lasers can produce good results in terms of intraoral welding. The theoretical advantages of the use of lasers for the welding 8 International Journal of Dentistry are different: lasers is effective on all metals and can be used without filler metal and shielding gas and thanks to the fact that the beam has extremely small dimensions and is well focused (0.6 mm), there is no adverse effect (overheating) on the surrounding tissue [7,9,10].…”

“…One of the obvious advantages of the intraoral welding technique is the ability to rehabilitate in a very short timeframe and with limited costs fully edentulous patients, without going through lengthy and complex laboratory phases [2][3][4][5][6]18]. Recently, some potential alternatives to the traditional technique originally proposed by P. L. Mondani and P. M. Mondani [1] and subsequently recovered by Degidi et al [3,5,6,18] have been proposed [7,8]. Albiero and Benato [8] published a case report in which the technique of intraoral welding has been combined with modern guided surgical techniques.…”

“…The passive fit contributed to the optimal healing of the implants and the use of guided surgery allowed for the reduction of surgery time and the adaptation of the bar to the implant abutments [8]. Fornaini et al [7,9,10] have presented another possible variant of the intraoral welding technique, using a laser for the welding of a bar (previously prepared from a technician) to 4 implants placed in an edentulous maxilla.…”

“…The theoretical advantages of the use of lasers for the welding 8 International Journal of Dentistry are different: lasers is effective on all metals and can be used without filler metal and shielding gas and thanks to the fact that the beam has extremely small dimensions and is well focused (0.6 mm), there is no adverse effect (overheating) on the surrounding tissue [7,9,10]. In addition, lasers can be used on all patients (even on patients with pacemakers) [7,9,10]. In our present clinical research, we have introduced a further possible variant of the classical intraoral welding technique procedure: the so-called "Ball Welding Bar" (BWB) technique.…”

“…Overall, the intraoral welding technique proved to be effective and reliable in allowing the fabrication of immediately loaded prostheses in edentulous patients [6]. Some possible variations to the classic technique of intraoral welding have been presented in recent scientific literature [7][8][9][10]. In the most commonly used methods, the diameter of the bar (generally made of titanium grade 2) is chosen based on the distance between the implants, the extent of the arch, and the available prosthetic volumes.…”