Zest Anchors’ innovative SATURNO O-ring attachment allows up to 30 degrees of divergence between 2 angled O-ring type implants.
The SATURNO O-ring attachment is designed with an inner titanium nitride–coated race that contains the O-ring and pivots up to 15 degrees in all directions within the metal denture housing.
The 10 dentists who participated in this Dental Product Shopper evaluation of SATURNO rated and commented on several features, including clarity of instructions, patient response after placement, and ease of chairside pickup.
Ease of Use
SATURNO possesses a number of features meant to make the implant process simple, including clear, comprehensive instructions and an innovative O-ring Insertion Tool. Ease of chairside pickup was rated as excellent by 3 evaluators, as very good by 5, and as good by 2. Four evaluators noted ease of use as the feature they like best, with one reporting that SATURNO is “very user friendly” and another really liked the “ease of use and retention.” Clarity of instructions was another feature rated by the evaluators, with 4 calling it excellent, 4 very good, and 2 good. The evaluators declined to comment further on this subject.
Evaluators also had the opportunity to use Zest’s O-ring Insertion Tool, which allows easy insertion of O-ring attachments into metal denture caps without damage to the O-ring. Eight of the 10 evaluators tried the tool and 2 rated its usefulness as excellent, 4 as very good, and 2 as good. Two evaluators expressed concern regarding the tool’s durability. An evaluator whose overall satisfaction was very good said, “Because the insertion tool is made of plastic I am concerned about its longevity. Another commented on the topic, claiming the “Oring Insertion Tool works very well.”
Fit
SATURNO comes in Standard and Micro sizes that offer clinicians the versatility to use the product with 2.25-mm and 1.8-mm ball abutments, respectively. When evaluators were asked to rate the correct fit of both the Standard and Micro sizes, 4 rated it as excellent, 5 as very good, and 1 as good.
Evaluators rated how well SATURNO provided the correct fit of the prosthesis after completing the acrylic resin pickup procedure. Three rated it as excellent, 6 as very good, and 1 as good. An evaluator from Philadelphia said he saw “excellent denture stability after placing SATURNO O-rings.”
Performance
Evaluators reviewed the product’s ability to accommodate up to 15 degrees of angulation, with 6 rating it as very good and 3 as good (1 reviewer declined to comment). One evaluator mentioned, “It is rare to have implants precisely parallel to each other.” An evaluator that rated his overall satisfaction as very good said, “I have concerns as to if the swivel will still work as tarter builds up.” Whether or not SATURNO provides adequate space for the pivoting O-ring cap was rated as excellent by 2 evaluators, very good by 4, and good-to-fair by 4.
The ability to block out undercuts and keep the cap centered was reviewed by evaluators too, with 4 rating it as excellent, 3 as very good, and 3 as good. Finally, the patient’s response after placement was rated as excellent by 4, as very good by 3, and good by 3. One evaluator called SATURNO “overall [a] very good product,” adding, “I see myself using this for future cases.”
Overall Satisfaction
When asked to rate their overall satisfaction with SATURNO, 4 evaluators rated it as excellent and 6 rated it as very good. An evaluator who gave the product an overall rating of very good and said they would definitely recommend the product to colleagues said, “This product is a cost effective alternative to other types of attachment systems.”
