Short answer
A milled PMMA provisional is a temporary crown designed in CAD and milled from a pre-polymerized PMMA disc instead of being made chairside from resin. We make them on prepared teeth and on implants. A 2023 systematic review found milled provisionals fit better, tested stronger and held color better than printed or conventional ones.
What it is
A provisional crown designed in CAD on your scan and milled from a PMMA (polymethyl methacrylate) disc. The disc is industrially polymerized, so the crown carries none of the polymerization shrinkage of resin mixed chairside.
We make two versions: on a prepared tooth, cemented while the final crown is in production, and on an implant, when the provisional phase is also there to shape the soft tissue.
When to prescribe it
On a natural tooth, a milled provisional protects the prep and lets you trial form, shade and occlusion before the final crown. A 2023 systematic review in Materials concluded that milled interim restorations fit better, have higher mechanical properties and are more color-stable than printed or conventional ones.
On an implant, especially in the esthetic zone, the provisional is how you condition the tissue. Atri and Nokar’s 2024 review describes the provisional phase as the one that guides healing, shapes the gingiva and develops the emergence profile. The final crown then has to reproduce that profile.
How we make it
Provisionals are designed on your scan and milled in PMMA in our lab in São Paulo, Brazil; on implants, the emergence profile is set in the design. Every stage is validated and logged, the provisional goes through eight checks before it ships, and you see its phase in the portal.
What to send
The basics are in our case submission guide. If the provisional comes ahead of a zirconia implant crown, note it on the prescription; the intraoral scanning guide covers capturing the scan body. For full-arch immediate-load provisionals, see our immediate-load prosthesis service.
Frequently asked questions
Milled or 3D-printed provisionals?
A 2023 systematic review in Materials compared milled, printed and conventional interim restorations. Milled ones showed better marginal fit, higher mechanical properties and better color stability. The PMMA disc comes fully polymerized, so there is no chairside polymerization shrinkage.
Does an implant provisional help with the emergence profile?
In the esthetic zone, that is its main job. Atri and Nokar's 2024 review describes the provisional phase as the step that guides healing, shapes the gingiva and develops the emergence profile before the final crown. If you want the contour changed, say how on the prescription.
Do I need to send components for an implant provisional?
Put the implant brand and platform on the prescription. For analog impressions, send the impression coping or the analog. At check-in we confirm the component is in stock before the case goes into production.
Sources
- Marginal fit, mechanical properties, and esthetic outcomes of CAD/CAM interim fixed dental prostheses — a systematic review · Materials (2023)
- Prosthetic soft tissue management in esthetic implant restorations, part I — a narrative review · Clinical and Experimental Dental Research (2024)