Purpose: To determine and compare the frequency of contamination on different sites of
healing abutments (HAs) after sterilization with Phloxine B dye on unused and used HAs after
sterilization. Materials and Methods: A total of 60 HAs were divided into two test groups: (1)
used and sterilized and (2) a control group (unused). The test group was evaluated for
contamination after sterilization; the control group did not undergo any procedure. Data were
analyzed using SPSS version 22 (IBM). Descriptive statistics were used to determine the
frequency of contamination in the different groups and at the different HA sites. Chi-square
test was used to evaluate the association of frequency of contamination with the HA site and
design. The level of significance was kept at P ≤ .01. Results: The test group showed more
contamination compared to the control group. The most contaminated sites were the screw
thread and the screwdriver engagement location. Conclusions: HA reuse is cost-effective, but
cleaning and sterilization was not effective for these components; thus, HAs need to be reused
with caution because they were heavily contaminated when compared to new HAs. Among
the different sites, the screw thread and screwdriver engagement sites were more prone to
contamination. HA type did not influence the frequency of contamination.
