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Implant Angulation Effect on the Fracture Resistance of Monolithic Zirconia

Now online in the Journal of Prosthodontics, Drs. Anastasia Katsavochristou, Marianella Sierraalta, Berna Saglik, Dimitrios Koumoulis, Furat George, and Michael Razzoog investigate the fracture resistance and performance of zirconia when used for the fabrication of implant abutments with different angulations.

Forty‐five monolithic zirconia custom abutments were designed and divided into three groups according to implant‐to‐abutment angulation (0°, 15°, and 25°). The abutments were loaded until failure at 135°.

Contrary to expectations, the non‐angulated monolithic zirconia abutments presented the lowest fracture resistance values and the authors determined that the angulation between the long axis of the implant and the zirconia abutment significantly affected the resistance to fracture of one‐piece zirconia abutments.

An important observation from this study is that all the abutments remained attached to their corresponding implant replicas after the testing, and no abutment mobility was detected. The failure was observed at the internal conical joint, while the fractured particles remained inside the implant replica. Clinicians should be aware of this when evaluating abutment failures in patients, as the fracture may not be visible externally.

Katsavochristou, A, Sierraalta, M, Saglik, B, et al: Implant angulation effect on the fracture resistance of monolithic zirconia custom abutments: an in vitro study. J Prosthodont doi 10.1111/jopr.13127

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