Publications by authors named "Stephen Chu"

Objectives: These two clinical case reports show the use of the Triple Layer Graft procedure along with the Decoronation procedure to help restore normal contour and height of tissue The procedure was highly effective at restoring the esthetics that the patients needed on their implants. Short and long term results along with the step by step technique are shown.

Clinical Considerations: Two patients of 33 and 25 years of age both had significant reduction in the height over their implants in the #7 and #10 locations.

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Objective: Immediate Tooth Replacement Therapy (ITRT) has become popular due to its ability to reduce treatment time and provide immediate esthetic results. However, long-term challenges, such as mid-facial recession and labial bone resorption, have been reported. Anatomic temporary cylinders (ATC), which allow for efficient fabrication of provisional transitional restorations in the esthetic zone, were designed to mimic the natural emergence profile and guide mucosal tissue healing.

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Objectives: The routine use of stress ulcer prophylaxis (SUP) in infants with congenital heart disease (CHD) in the cardiac ICU (CICU) is controversial. We aimed to conduct a pilot study to explore the feasibility of performing a subsequent larger trial to assess the safety and efficacy of withholding SUP in this population (NCT03667703).

Design, Setting, Patients: Single-center, prospective, double-blinded, parallel group (SUP vs.

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Objective: Traditional and modern-day laboratory techniques can be used to mask vital and non-vital discolored teeth.

Clinical Considerations: Two clinical case reports are presented showing different treatment approaches to differing clinical scenarios of partial coverage veneer and full coverage crown restorations, respectively.

Conclusions: Feldspathic ceramics should be considered when customization of stump shade correction and equalization is required with minimum facial reduction with veneer restorations.

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Successful rehabilitation of the anterior maxilla remains a challenge, primarily due to postextraction ridge collapse, which can lead to gingival recession and a nonesthetic appearance. The socket shield technique presents a viable alternative for immediate dental implant placement in the esthetic zone. This pilot study aimed to evaluate the survival, complication rates, and marginal bone loss around body-shift implants placed in fresh extraction sockets with the socket shield technique to replace maxillary incisors.

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The clinical outcome of every prosthetic and restorative procedure depends on the maintenance of a healthy periodontium. It is, therefore, important that the prosthodontist and restorative dentist cause no harm or permanent damage to the underlying hard and soft tissues when performing clinical procedures necessary to carry out the planned treatment. Several factors involved in these procedures have been described to have an impact on gingival health.

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Objective: The biaxial nature of the anterior maxilla poses a surgical and restorative challenge in implant dentistry. The present study sought to investigate the apical socket perforation rate (ASPR) from a simulated uniaxial implant placement and to determine the effect of implant length and diameter on ASPR when a uniaxial implant was placed compared with the orientation of the pre-existing dual-axis implant.

Material And Method: Cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans from the database of three private practices were searched for patients who received dual-axis implants within the esthetic zone in immediate tooth replacement therapy.

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This comparative case series presents 16 consecutively placed and temporized immediate implants in the maxillary esthetic zone. The implants have a novel, inverted body-shift design, intended to achieve high levels of primary stability via the tapered apical portion. The coronal narrow cylinder provides greater space between the implant platform and facial socket wall and adjacent teeth/implants, allowing a greater opportunity for augmentation.

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Aim And Objective: The aim of this paper is to ascertain the quantitative measurements of alveolar bone thickness at all maxillary anterior teeth and qualitatively demonstrate the relationship between tooth angulation (TA) and alveolar bone thickness.

Materials And Methods: Cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) images of 189 maxillary anterior teeth were collected. Sagittal view was selected to perform the measurement on alveolar bone wall at crestal, midlevel, and palatal.

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Objective: One of the most common complications with dental implants placed in the smile zone is the development of mid-facial recession, creating an undesirable esthetic result. When deciding how to remediate these clinical scenarios, the question becomes whether it may be feasible to save the problematic implant or if it is more predictable to remove the implant and start all over again. However, patients may be invested emotionally, physically, and financially in the implant and remediation may be a viable option depending on the diagnosis of the specific issues at hand and multi-disciplinary clinical execution.

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The concept of immediate tooth replacement therapy (ITRT) in the esthetic zone has become a viable treatment modality and widely accepted in clinical practice. However, achieving adequate primary stability that enables immediate provisional restoration and desirable space for bone-grafting with conventional tapered body implant designs is challenging. The macro-hybrid implant design with a prosthetic angle correction and body-shift feature in a singular form provides not only greater primary stability of a wider diameter implant but also circumferential gap distance both facially and interproximally preserve the labial bone plate and interdental attachment apparatus of the adjacent natural teeth thereby maintaining the interdental papilla.

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Background: HIV index testing, an intervention in which HIV-positive "indexes" (persons diagnosed with HIV) are supported to recruit their "contacts" (sexual partners and children) efficiently identifies HIV-infected persons in need of treatment and HIV-uninfected persons in need of prevention. However, index testing implementation in sub-Saharan African health care settings has been suboptimal. The objective of this study was to develop and pilot test a blended learning capacity-building package to improve index testing implementation in Malawi.

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A novel macro-hybrid implant design was introduced to afford high apical primary stability and more coronal space to preserve the circumferential extraction socket architecture. This study presents 1-year data from a prospective single-arm cohort study. The data was distilled based on the following criteria: (1) single-tooth immediate tooth replacement therapy (ITRT) in the maxillary anterior and premolar regions in intact (Type 1) extraction sockets that were (2) treated with the dual-zone grafting technique.

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Achieving primary stability is a critical challenge presented by immediate implant therapy. Surgeons often utilize wider, tapered implants for this purpose, or they use longer implants to achieve primary stability. Both strategies are associated with negative ramifications.

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A clinical case series of three patients is presented using a novel implant design to not only address primary stability but also to prevent damage to the labial bone plate and improve the interdental space for papillae preservation with immediate tooth replacement therapy. This unique implant design features an apicocoronal inverted body-shift in diameter (wide to narrow), shape (tapered to cylindrical), thread depth (deep to shallow), and thread pattern (V-shaped to square) to achieve uncompromised primary stability and esthetics, particularly in extraction sockets, in a singular body form. In addition, the implant possesses a prosthetic angle correction within the implant body to facilitate screw-retention of the restoration and avoid the risk of apical socket perforation.

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There is a need to modify the definition of attached gingiva (AG) as it applies to healthy and diseased teeth and implants. There are two parts to this new definition: Part A is when the biologic width is supracrestal (epithelial attachment and gingival fibers) and is attached to a healthy tooth or tissue-level implant, and the zone of AG is measured from the base of the sulcus to the mucogingival junction (MGJ); Part B is when the biologic width is subcrestal-as with infrabony defects on periodontally involved teeth, periodontally involved tissue-level implants, and bone-level implants placed at or below the bone crest-and the zone of AG is measured from the bone crest (not the base of the sulcus) to the MGJ. Further, what the AG is actually attached to around teeth and different types of implants, and the clinical significance of these differences, are thoroughly discussed.

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Objective: The following is a clinical report addressing when to save or remove implants with esthetic deficiencies in the smile zone as well as the sequence and timing of interdisciplinary treatment.

Clinical Considerations: Key factors in the decision-making process in treating implants in malposition are whether the implants are (1) in a reasonable restorative position, (2) free of disease, and (3) placed with adequate depth. This clinical report encompassed periodontal corrective surgery, non-surgical soft tissue sculpting through subgingival crown contour, material selection for definitive restorations, and cementation techniques for cement-retained restorations.

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A new implant design to increase labial plate dimension and tooth-implant distance in maxillary anterior extraction sockets over traditional tapered implant designs is presented. Generally, tapered implants are divergent and wider at the coronal aspect of the implant adjacent to the lowest bone volume. Decreasing bone around implants over time can lead to ridge collapse, recession, and a graying effect of the gingival tissues that eventually impacts esthetic outcomes adversely.

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A case report of tooth agenesis and excessive intraarch space due to tooth size discrepancies and malformed teeth is presented. Interdisciplinary treatment including orthodontics, implant surgery, prosthodontics, and laboratory fabrication with dissimilar restoration and material types was used to accomplish an esthetic and functional outcome. Proper diagnosis of individual tooth width and proportion were key elements in treatment.

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