Evaluation of radiographic technique using a new customized film holder for dental implant assessment.

PURPOSE: The aim was to evaluate the reproducibility of a radiographic technique using a new customized film holder in the follow-up of screwed single-tooth implants. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Ten implants placed in the mandible (n = 6) and maxilla (n = 4) of 8 patients were submitted to radiographic assessments. Radiographs were taken using a customized film holder adapted to implant abutment after 4 (T0) and 8 (T1) months of implant placement. Quantitative evaluations were performed through horizontal and vertical measurements to analyze radiographic standardization. RESULTS: No differences were detected after comparison of implant and abutment diameter measurements between radiographs after 4 and 8 months. No significant variations were detected in vertical measurements (implant and abutment length) between radiographs obtained in T0 and T1. CONCLUSIONS: The use of customized film holder adapted to the implant abutment seems to contribute to the standardization of radiographs at different times of screwed single-tooth implants.

Influence of different tightening forces before laser welding to the implant/framework fit.

PURPOSE: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the influence of abutment screw tightening force before laser welding procedures on the vertical fit of metal frameworks over four implants. MATERIALS AND METHODS: To construct the frameworks, prefabricated titanium abutments and cylindrical titanium bars were joined by laser welding to compose three groups: group of manual torque (GMT), GT10 and GT20. Before welding, manual torque simulating routine laboratory procedure was applied to GTM. In GT10 and GT20, the abutment screws received 10 and 20 Ncm torque, respectively. After welding, the implant/framework interfaces were assessed by optical comparator microscope using two methods. First, the single screw test (SST) was used, in which the interfaces of the screwed and non-screwed abutments were assessed, considering only the abutments at the framework extremities. Second, the interfaces of all the abutments were evaluated when they were screwed. RESULTS: In the SST, intergroup analysis (Kruskal Wallis) showed no significant difference among the three conditions of tightening force; that is, the different tightening force before welding did not guarantee smaller distortions. Intragroup analysis (Wilcoxon) showed that for all groups, the interfaces of the non-screwed abutments were statistically greater than the interfaces of the screwed abutments, evidencing distortions in all the frameworks. ANOVA was applied for the comparison of interfaces when all the abutments were screwed and showed no significant difference among the groups. CONCLUSIONS: Under the conditions of this study, pre-welding tightness on abutment screws did not influence the vertical fit of implant-supported metal frameworks.