The influence of abutment screw length and repeated tightening on screw loosening in dental implant

Choi, Jin Ho; Yang, Jae Ho; Cho, Won Pyo; Lee, Jai Bong

Abstract

Statement of problem: One of common problems associated with dental implant is the loosening of abutment screws that retain the implants. Purpose: This study was performed to investigate the influence of abutment screw length and repeated tightening on screw loosening in dental implant. Material and method: Forty nine Hexplants (13mm length, 4.3mm diameter, Ti grade IV, Warantec. Co. Ltd. Seongnam, Korea) and cementation type abutments(straight abutment) and abutment screws (0.4mm/pitch) were divided into 7 groups, depending on abutment screw length. Each implant and abutment was tightened to 30Ncm by torque controller(MGT50, MARK-10 Inc., USA) and the removal torque values were measured during 10 consecutive closure/opening trials
Results
and Conclusion: The results of comparing the removal torque value are as follows: 1. There is no significant difference in the removal torque value between groups in 10 consecutive closure/opening trials(p=0.97). 2. If the fractured abutment screw is engaged in longer than 2.425 thread length, there is no significant difference in the preload between the fractured abutment screw and the new abutment screw when both are equally tightened to 30 Ncm 3. The removal torque value in the 1st trial(24.510 Ncm) was lower than that in the 2nd,3rd,4th,5th,6th,7th trials and the removal torque value in the 2nd trials(25.551 Ncm) was maximum and was decreased in following trials. The removal torque value in the 1st trial was significantly lower than that in the 2nd,3rd,4th trials and was significantly higher than that in the 8th,9th,10th trials(p<0.05). 4. In the 2nd,3rd,4th,5th,6th,7th trials, the abutment screw was mainly influenced by settling effect and the higher preload was obtained. In the 8th,9th,10th trials, the abutment screw was mainly influenced by adhesive wear and the progressively lower preload was obtained.