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CAMLOG&Science – Chapter 3
The design of the implant-abutment connection is of high relevance for the
loading capacity as well as for the long-term stability of the peri-implant
hard and soft tissues. Micro-gaps between the implant and abutment favor
microbial colonization of the implant-abutment interface. As a result, endo-
toxins may penetrate the surrounding tissue and may induce inflammatory
processes leading to bone resorption and implant loss. While it is widely ac-
cepted that butt-joint connections present micro-gaps, the situation in co-
nical connections has been under discussion for many years since many di-
rect visualization tests have failed. Recent studies give deeper insight into
loading capacity and gap formation of different implant systems.
Other important aspects affecting the long-term success of implant-based
reconstructions are abutment material, prosthetic fit and the retrievability of
crowns in case of biological or technical problems. Various studies on these to-
pics have beenperformedusing theCAMLOG
®
andCONELOG
®
Implant Systems.
Fig. 9:
Load-bearing capacity (Fm) versus implant-abutment connection type. Means and standard deviations are given. AST – Astra Tech,
BEG – Bego, CAM – CAMLOG
®
, FRI – Friadent, NOB – Nobel, STR – Straumann. (Adapted from Dittmer et al. (2011)).
CONNECTION DESIGN AND LOAD-BEARING CAPACITY
Does the design of the implant-abutment connection influence the load-be-
aring capacity? A research group fromHannover, Germany, compared different
implant systems in an in vitro study (Dittmer et al., 2011). On implants, centrally
embedded in plastic material, corresponding abutments were placed and
tightened with screws according to the manufacturers’ recommendations.
An universal testing machine was used to apply a 30° off-axis load linearly
increasing until failure. Although all tested implants displayed load-bearing
capacities that were considerably higher than average chewing forces, the
authors could clearly demonstrate that the connection design had a signi-
ficant influence on the load-bearing capacity as well as on the failure mode
due to static overload. The CAMLOG
®
implants demonstrated favorable re-
sults regarding their load-bearing capacity (Fig. 9).
LOADING CAPACITY, SEAL AND
FIT OF MODERN
IMPLANT-
ABUTMENT
CONNECTIONS
AND PROSTHETICS