• The Journal of Advanced Prosthodontics
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.116-120
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• 2012

Various options have been introduced for the selection of implant overdenture attachments. Attachment wear due to the repeated insertion and removal of dentures has caused problems such as decreased retention and the requirement for suprastructure remanufacturing. In these cases, a Locator bar system was applied using the drill and tapping technique to achieve total retrievability. In a 55-year-old female patient who showed three degrees of mobility in most of her teeth due to severe alveolar bone loss, a complete denture in the maxilla and an implant supported type overdenture in the mandible were planned after extracting all the remaining teeth. Six implants were placed from canine region to the distal molar region, and the locator was connected to the milled bar using the drill and tapping technique. For a 61-year-old female edentulous patient who complained of poor retention with old denture, a complete denture in the maxilla and an implant-tissue supported type overdenture in the mandible were planned. Four implants were placed in front of mental foramen, and the Locator was also connected to the Hader bar using the drill and tapping technique. With this technique, female parts can be easily replaced, and retention can be continuously maintained.

• The Journal of Korean Academy of Prosthodontics
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• v.53 no.3
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• pp.207-214
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• 2015

Due to the limitations of conventional removable partial denture prostheses to treat a cleft lip & palate patient who shows scar tissue on upper lip, excessive absorption of the maxillary residual alveolar ridge, and class III malocclusion with narrow palate and undergrowth of the maxilla, 4 implants were placed on the maxillary edentulous region and a maxillary removable implant-supported partial denture was planned using a CAD/CAM milled titanium bar. Unlike metal or gold casting technique which has shrinkage after the molding, CAD/CAM milled titanium bar is highly-precise, economical and lightweight. In practice, however, it is very hard to obtain accurate friction-fit from the milled bar and reduction in retention can occur due to repetitive insertion and removal of the denture. Various auxiliary retention systems (e.g. $ERA^{(R)}$, $CEKA^{(R)}$, magnetics, $Locator^{(R)}$ attachment), in order to deal with these problems, can be used to obtain additional retention, cost-effectiveness and ease of replacement. Out of diverse auxiliary attachments, $Locator^{(R)}$ has characteristics that are dual retentive, minimal in vertical height and convenient of attachment replacement. Drill and tapping method is simple and the replacement of the metal female part of $Locator^{(R)}$ attachment is convenient. In this case, the $Locator^{(R)}$ attachment is connected to the milled titanium bar fabricated by CAD/CAM, using the drill and tapping technique. Afterward, screw holes were formed and 3 $Locator^{(R)}$ attachments were secured with 20 Ncm holding force for additional retention. Following this procedure, satisfactory results were obtained in terms of aesthetic facial form, masticatory function and denture retention, and I hereby report this case.