Evaluation of UCLA Implant-Abutment Sealing

Purpose: To evaluate the effect of the presence of a prefabricated cobalt-chromium (CoCr) margin in a universal castable long abutment (UCLA) on the sealing capability and fit of the implant-abutment interface. Materials and Methods: One-hundred twenty external hexagon implants (SIN) were divided into two groups (n = 60 each) to receive UCLA abutments from six manufacturers (n = 10 each) either with or without a CoCr margin (n = 60 each). Abutments were cast and 12 groups were formed: M (Microplant), I (Impladen), S (SIN), Sv (Signo Vinces), T (TitaniumFix), and B (Bionnovation). Sealing was determined by placing 0.7 μL of 0.1% toluidine blue in the implant wells before abutment torquing. Implant-abutment samples were placed into 2.0-mL vials containing 0.7 mL of distilled water to maintain the implant-abutment interface, and aliquots of 100 μL of water were retrieved at 1, 3, 6, 24, 48, 72, 96, and 144 hour incubation times for measurement of absorbance in a spectrophotometer, and returned for repeated measurements. Two-way ANOVA (P .05) and Tukey's test were used. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used for observation of the implant-abutment fit. Results: Groups M, Sv, and T without the CoCr margin resulted in complete release of toluidine blue at 1 hour, whereas I, S, and B did so at 3, 24, and 96 hours, respectively. Complete leakage in abutments with the prefabricated margin occurred at 6 hours for S; 24 hours for Sv, T, and B; and 72 hours for M and I. Implant-abutment gaps were observed in all groups. A poorer fit was depicted for groups M and T without the CoCr margin. Conclusion: Complete leakage was observed for all UCLA abutments regardless of the presence of the CoCr margin. Implant-abutment gaps were observed in all groups. Keywords: dental implant, gap, implant-abutment connection, in vitro, microleakage, spectrophotometry