General Bicon Information
What are Bicon's hours of operation?
How can I place an order?
Orders may be placed by phone, fax or through our online store.
Phone: +1 (800) 882-4266Fax: +1 (617) 524-0096
For orders placed through our online store, our domestic and Canadian customers will receive a 2% discount. If you are located in a country where Bicon has a distributor, then please contact your distributor directly. For a list of distributors, please visit our worldwide list.
What is Bicon's method of payment?
We accept Visa, Mastercard, and American Express.
What is Bicon's method of shipping?
All orders are shipped either FedEx Express or UPS Ground.
What is Bicon's return policy?
Items returned within 30 days from the date of purchase are eligible for full credit. Items returned between 31 and 90 days from the date of purchase are subject to a 15% restocking fee. Items will not be accepted for credit or exchange after 90 days from the date of purchase. Items must be in their original undamaged and unopened packaging with all seals intact. Implants and abutments being returned for credit or exchange must have at least a two year shelf life remaining. Shipping charges for any return must be paid by the customer. Individual items from a kit or previously exchanged items may not be returned for credit.
What is Bicon's return procedure?
Call the Customer Service Department at 800.88.BICON to receive a Return Authorization Number (RA#). The granting of an RA# does not guarantee that the product will be accepted for return. All return policy conditions must be met for the return to be processed. A copy of the corresponding invoice must be enclosed with the shipment.
Send all returns to:
Bicon Returns Department
RA#
501 Arborway
Boston, MA 02130 USA
Items missing from package, or damaged due to improper packaging will not be given credit.
The Bicon System
What is the shape of the Bicon Implant?
The Bicon implant is a tapered implant design with fins or plateaus. The fin design adds at least 30% more surface area than a screw implant of the same size. The fins also allow for a direct resistance to the vertical forces of occlusion. The implants and abutments of the system are made from the titanium alloy Ti6Al4V.
What size implants does Bicon offer?
The Bicon Implant is available in lengths of 5.0, 6.0, 8.0, and 11.0mm and diameters of 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5, 5.0 and 6.0mm. Due to the increased surface area that the plateau or fin design provides, shorter implants can be used routinely.
For example, the use of a 5.0 x 6.0mm implant is sufficient to support any tooth in the dental arch.
What implant surface treatments are available with Bicon?
Bicon implants are manufactured from surgical grade titanium alloy (Ti 6Al 4V) and are supplied as hydroxylapatite treated (Integra-CP™), or grit-blasted and acid-etched (Integra-Ti™), and are considered by biomaterial researchers to be highly biocompatible in numerous animal and human studies which have been conducted over a period of many years. The choice of surface treatment is a matter of personal preference as all treatments are successfully used by clinicians around the world.
How should the implant be placed?
The Bicon implant is designed to be placed such that the top of the implant is 5.0mm below the gingival crest. This placement is especially important for aesthetic areas.
How does the abutment connect to the implant?
The Bicon abutment attaches to the implant by a 1.5˚ locking taper. The locking taper is a well-known engineering principle used for joining two pieces of like metal together. A locking taper consists of a 1.5˚ tapered post that fits into a corresponding 1.5˚ tapered well. When a light force is applied to the abutment, the post of the abutment and the well of the implant become one. The locking taper connection provides a bacterial seal at the implant-abutment interface. Other applications that utilize a locking taper are orthopedic hip implants and the dental lathe.
What size and type of abutments does Bicon offer?
Bicon offers abutments for both crown and denture restorations. Within both of these categories, the abutments are available in different lengths, diameters, angulations and post diameters. The post diameter you choose (2.0, 2.5, or 3.0mm) depends upon the diameter of the implant you place. For a full listing of abutments, please refer to our online catalog.
What is a temporary abutment?
A temporary abutment assists in the healing, formation and maintenance of the soft tissue over an implant. During the one-stage technique, the temporary abutment is placed into the implant and helps to form the sulcus during the implant’s integration. Or, some dentists who use the two-stage technique choose to place the temporary abutment in lieu of the final abutment at the time of the implant’s exposure. After soft-tissue maturation, the dentist would remove the temporary abutment and then place the final abutment.
What is an emergence cuff? When and how do I use an emergence cuff?
An emergence cuff is a plastic prosthetic ring, which is placed over a permanent abutment to maintain a proper gingival sulcus. An emergence cuff may be used alone, in non-aesthetic areas, or it may act as the apical third of a temporary crown. To meet the need of a particular clinical situation, the emergence cuff may be reshaped. For Bicon’s regular abutments, the emergence cuff is retained with cement. And, for our new Stealth Shouldered Abutment System, the emergence cuff is snapped into place.
What type of impression material do the clinicians at Bicon use for the non-shouldered abutment?
The impression material of choice is Impregum. However, the clinicians may use the material that they feel is best.
What type of cement should be used for crown restorations?
Any dental cement can be used to retain a crown on a permanent abutment. We advise the use of a bonding type of cement when cementing all-ceramic crowns. At our training facility, we use DiamondLink™ cement for all-ceramic crowns.
How do I remove an abutment shaft that has already been tapped into an implant?
To remove an abutment using forceps, grasp the abutment and apply a simultaneous twisting and pulling motion to release the abutment from the implant. Alternatively, an abutment may be removed from an implant with the use of forceps and a tapping instrument such as a mallet or another forceps. After grasping the abutment with the forceps, apply a tapping force on the handle of the forceps away from and in the long axis of the implant. This technique will be particularly advantageous for the removal of an abutment in a recently integrated implant.
How long should it take for the implant to integrate?
After the placement of an implant, the osseointegration process may last anywhere from 3–5 months.
Are there benefits to the one-stage technique?
The main advantages of the one-stage technique are the preservation of the dental papillae and the timely formation of a gingival sulcus during the integration of the implant. With the one-stage technique, there is no need for surgery at the time of final abutment placement. This eliminates the need for anesthesia and sutures. However, with the use of the one-stage technique, particular attention must be paid to avoid movement of the integrating implant by the tongue, a bolus of food or a removable prosthesis.
Can Bicon be used as an alternative to root canal treatment?
YES! Not all teeth are good candidates for root canal treatment. In situations where the teeth are not worth saving, a Bicon implant should be considered. Root canal treatments are susceptible to decay and oftentimes put the patient through a painful and costly process (cf. crown lengthening). The cost factor for saving a tooth during the course of your dental treatments can exceed that of the placement of an implant and crown fabrication. This is not to say that root canals should not be done, but rather to say that implants should be considered as an alternative treatment.
What are the current CDT codes used for filing procedures related to implant dentistry?
6010 Surgical placement of implant body
6056 Prefabricated abutment – includes placement (abutment placement)
6058 Abutment supported porcelain/ceramic crown (IAC)
6059 Abutment supported PFM
7950 Lateral sinus lift
7999 Unspecified oral surgery procedure (ridge split)
7955 Bone graft
6100 Implant removal, by report
Stealth Shouldered Abutments
What are the two lines for on the Stealth Shouldered Abutment that are 1/2 of the way down from the occlusal end?
The lines or indentations provide the locking mechanism for the snap-on emergence cuff. If necessary, the indentation may be polished off when seating a dental casting.
Can I take a direct impression of the Stealth Shouldered Abutment?
Yes. A direct impression may be taken of the Stealth Shouldered Abutment. However, it will require greater care to capture a subgingival margin.
Why will this Stealth Shouldered Abutment system decrease the use of angled abutments?
Since the Stealth Shouldered Abutment is smaller in size than Bicon’s non shouldered abutments for cement retained restoration, angulation corrections may be accomplished in the prosthesis instead of on the abutment.
Where is the ideal placement of the shoulder on the Stealth Shouldered Abutment?
The ideal placement is to have the shoulder of the abutment 1.5mm below the crest of the soft tissue.
What about the removal of cement subgingivally?
Care must be taken to avoid excess subgingival cement. The use of a lubricant, such as Vaseline on the external aspect of the crown prior to seating, will facilitate this for you. Also, since Bicon’s abutment posts have the possibility of 360° universal positioning, extra-oral cementation of a crown is practical.
Can the Stealth Shouldered Abutment be modified?
Yes. However, if an indirect impression is taken, the analog and sleeve will also need to be modified.
Can the Stealth Shouldered Abutment be used for the restoration of all teeth? Centrals? Laterals? Bicuspids? Molars?
Yes. Any tooth that can accommodate a 5.0mm cervical diameter could be replaced with the Stealth Shouldered Abutment. If a smaller diameter is necessary, the universal shouldered abutment or the original non-shouldered abutments for cement retained restorations should be used.
What material is the abutment made of?
The Stealth Shouldered Abutments are made of Surgical Grade Titanium Alloy (Ti6Al4V). It is the same material used for all Bicon’s other abutments and implants.