Soft tissue integration with a hybrid abutment using the “one abutment–one time” therapeutic protocol: case series

Objective: To describe a procedure that uses a definitive BioHPP hybrid abutment (polyether ether ketone [PEEK] reinforced with ceramic nanoparticles), to obtain a hermetic mucous seal with the peri-implant soft tissues.
Method and materials: Between July 2017 and December 2019, seven patients aged between 40 and 60 years, who needed prosthetic rehabilitation in the esthetic zone, were treated. Among the various therapeutic solutions offered, patients chose an immediate or conventional implant rehabilitation using the “one abutment–one time” technique with the hybrid SKY elegance implant abutment (bredent medical). Ten implants were placed, five with immediate loading including two postextraction, and five in a conventional/classic loading protocol. The protocol required that the finishing margin of the provisional restoration was positioned approximately 1 to 2 mm from the implant platform, allowing the tissues to heal around the ceramic-reinforced PEEK abutment. After 6 months for the implants with immediate loading, and 3 months for those with conventional loading, the provisional restorations were replaced with definitive zirconia-ceramic prostheses.
Results: The clinical evaluation on the 10 implants showed that the reinforced PEEK abutments integrated well with the peri-implant tissues, and were healthy, without plaque, and with no bleeding on probing. An average probing depth of 1.0 mm was observed for nine of the ten placed implants, and for the tenth the implant probing depth was 1.5 mm.
Conclusions: The ceramic-reinforced PEEK abutments BioHPP SKY elegance associated with the one-time therapeutic protocol is a valid alternative to traditional implant loading procedures, leading to an effective peri-implant hermetic mucous seal. (Quintessence Int 2022;53:590–596; doi: 10.3290/j.qi.b3082565; Originally published (in Italian) in Quintenssenza Internationale 2021;35:48–57)