Influence of Abutment Screw Design and Surface Coating on the Bending Flexural Strength of the Implant Set

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to analyze the influence of the setting and the presence of solid lubricant on the abutment screw surface on the flexural strength of the joint implant/abutment/screw. Forty abutments were connected to external hex implants, divided into 4 groups (n = 10): FE (titanium alloy screw threaded in the extremity), LE (titanium alloy screw with solid lubricant and thread in the extremity), FT (titanium alloy screw with threaded in all its length), and LT (titanium alloy screw with solid lubricant and thread in all its length). Through the mechanical flexural test, the implant/abutment resistance was evaluated with load applied perpendicular to the long axis in a mechanical testing machine (EMIC) under a speed of 0.5 mm/min. Data were submitted to a statistics test, and results showed statistically significant differences between the FE group and the other groups, and the FE group showed the lowest values. The LE group showed greater values than the LT group, and the values were statistically significant. According to the methodology used, it can be concluded that within noncoated titanium screws, a screw threaded along its entire length provided greater rigidity to the implant set, while with the screw containing solid lubricant, the screw threaded in all its length provided less rigidity of the implant set than screws with the thread only on the end. Among screws with the same geometry, those with the solid lubricant are statistically higher than those which do not have threads just at the end, but those with threads along their entire length do not show statistically significant differences.