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Mays Attachment Unilateral Distal Extension

The Mays is a major technical advancement for extracoronal unilateral attachments.  Designed specifically for the unilateral distal extension, the Mays is the first attachment with a lingual locking arm.  It cannot be dislodged, and yet it is easily removed for patient hygiene.

The Clinical History of hundreds of Mays partials reveal excellent health of the abutment periodontia, patient acceptance, and dentist approval.  But what it doesn't do is also impressive:

• No palatal or lingual bar required

• No springs or tension retainers to adjust and/or replace

• No cast chromium framework required

• No soldering.  Male portion casts with crowns

• No paralleling even on bilateral cases

• Doesn't require much space (will fit into less than 3mm vertically)

• No special tooth preparation required

Please specify either LL/UR (lower left, upper right) or LR/UL (lower right, upper left) attachment.

	After first waxing the abutment crowns, check the attachment for vertical space.
If necessary, the height of the Mays attachment can be reduced to fit a vertical space of 3mm.  Care must be taken not to alter the oval portion of the radius.  Reduce by grinding the anterior top portion of the female housing first--then insert the plastic male and reduce to the same height.  Do Not grind both parts together as the heat of grinding the metal may cause the plastic male to be damaged.
With the male and female locked together, align the plastic male parallel to the crest of the ridge so that the arm of the attachment will come out  flush with the finished lingual surface of the saddle.
	A--Lingual arm aligns with lingual acrylic surface B--Plastic male aligns with crest of ridge
Wax the plastic male to the crowns, taking care not to wax all the way back to the metal female.  Next pull the crowns and the entire attachment as one unit, unlock the housing, and use an instrument to carefully dislodge the metal female part.
	Reseat crowns on model, sprue, invest in your usual manner, and then cast in the dental alloy of your choice.
Finish the crowns and seat on the model (DO NOT polish the male portion of the attachment).  Move the female housing into place and lock.  If, when closing the arm of the attachment, it feels tight, use a .700 tapered burr and gently ream out the pin hole in the male part by hand.  Do not use a motor.
Sticky wax crowns in place on the model, raise distal portion of the female housing until tight--place a small amount of self curing acrylic under the distal of the housing to secure it in this position.
Paint model with separator.  Adapt form fitting wax base, set up teeth and wax-up case in usual manner.
After wax-up has been completed, unlock the attachment and separate the saddle with GREAT CARE.  Close arm of attachment completely.  Pour stone model in the wax base, taking care to vibrate stone inside the female attachment.
When investing the wax-up, bring the stone against the lingual arm for better stabilization during boil-out and packing.  Then pack with a no-trial-pack material such as Lucitone 199 because of its ease in working and high resistance to breakage.  Or, if you use a self-curing (or pouring) technique for partial saddles, it will work well on this saddle.  It may be even be a little safer against dislodging the attachment during the packing procedure.
After processing the attachment, the arm should open freely.  If it does not, it can be easily freed by momentarily touching the arm with a hot spatula.
After loosening the attachment arm, heat the arm (not the saddle) with an alcohol torch just enough to displace any obstructing acrylic when the arm is closed firmly with a pair of needle nose pliers.  This will insure that the attachment is closing completely and that the arm swings freely.  By looking at the pin inside of the attachment, you can tell if the arm is closing completely.  If it is not, repeat the above procedure until the arm swings freely and the pin sets completely into the attachment.
In milling in the occlusion, take the mesial cusps of the first tooth on the saddle slightly out of occlusion.  Finish the saddle, grind arm to lingual contour of the acrylic and cut a small notch in the anterior end of the arm for a fingernail to open it.  Rubber wheel and buff the edge of the arm so that there are not sharp edges to irritate the tongue.
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