An in vitro evaluation of the strength of a 1-piece and 2-piece conical abutment joint in implant design

Abstract

The performance and maintenance of implant‐supported prostheses are primarily dependent upon load transmission both at the bone‐to‐implant interface and within the implant–abutment–prosthesis complex. The design of the interface between components has been shown to have a profound influence on the stability of screw joints. In this in vitro evaluation, implants utilizing an internal conical joint have demonstrated a parity in resistance to bending moments at the fixture–abutment interface, when comparing a 1‐piece abutment to a 2‐piece abutment, which is tightened via a separate abutment screw, with mean plastic bending moments of 4176 N mm and 4049 N mm respectively. The very small values for coefficient of variance measured in both systems would confirm that whilst the size of data is small it is nonetheless a reliable indication of the relative strength of these conical joint designs.