Choosing an Abutment
Posted on 10/02/2013
One of the more common questions we receive from our clients is what type of abutment to use for a case: a straight abutment, angled abutment or custom abutment. With the incredible amount of available systems and parts, it can be awfully confusing.
Of course, there are advantages from a cost perspective to use a pre-fabricated abutment. But be cautious. Choosing the wrong abutment will often increase your costs. The key factors to consider when selecting an abutment include:
1. Depth of the implant: This determines the height of the abutment collar
2. Inter-occlusal space: This determines whether you can do a cement retained crown. If you have limited space, a screw retained crown will likely need a castable part.
3. Angulation: If the implant is placed off the ridge bucco-lingually or close proximally to a natural tooth, an angled abutment will often be needed. Typically, abutments are made at 15 degree or 25 degree angles. Choosing the correct one requires either a measurement or ideally an actual abutment to place into the implant and confirm angulation.
If unsure, we recommend opting for a custom abutment using either a UCLA castable abutment, or a milled titanium abutment. The former, in particular, allows for almost any scenario. The UCLA abutment allows the lab to cast any collar height, create either a cement retained or screw retained design, and contour for virtually any angulation. The titanium milled abutment offers the same but cannot easily be used for screw retained crowns.
Of course, there are advantages from a cost perspective to use a pre-fabricated abutment. But be cautious. Choosing the wrong abutment will often increase your costs. The key factors to consider when selecting an abutment include:
1. Depth of the implant: This determines the height of the abutment collar
2. Inter-occlusal space: This determines whether you can do a cement retained crown. If you have limited space, a screw retained crown will likely need a castable part.
3. Angulation: If the implant is placed off the ridge bucco-lingually or close proximally to a natural tooth, an angled abutment will often be needed. Typically, abutments are made at 15 degree or 25 degree angles. Choosing the correct one requires either a measurement or ideally an actual abutment to place into the implant and confirm angulation.
If unsure, we recommend opting for a custom abutment using either a UCLA castable abutment, or a milled titanium abutment. The former, in particular, allows for almost any scenario. The UCLA abutment allows the lab to cast any collar height, create either a cement retained or screw retained design, and contour for virtually any angulation. The titanium milled abutment offers the same but cannot easily be used for screw retained crowns.
