prosthesis. It may relieve the teeth of otherwise unbalanced occlusal forces and prevent the further deterioration of their situation. Bone might benefit, that around the teeth being saved from further trauma and that around the implant receiving osteogenic stimulation.

The narrow, single-tooth bladevent (3) is usually the most appropriate design for an interior two-tooth span. Whereas another narrow design (4) might fit into the span, its post would protrude interproximally (5) , requiring the addition of unesthetic, unnatural bulk in the restoration. (Note: "Single-tooth" bladevent refers to a specific, atypical bladevent design so narrow that it can fit into a single-tooth anterior span. The term does not refer to the number of teeth to be replaced. )

Some individuals have very little bone (6) between the apex of the tooth and floor of the nasal vestibulum. Thus when the tooth is lost, usually as a result of bone loss, there may be insufficient height to accept a standard single-tooth bladevent. Others may have lost an unusual amount of height (7) due to a traumatic extraction or some other factor. In such cases the implant's legs can be cut down to reduce the implant's height. Or, a shorter design can be angled (8) into the ridge and its neck bent to center (9) the post under the proposed restoration.

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