Leakage evaluation of original and compatible implant-abutment connections: In vitro study using Rhodamine B

Abstract

Leakage has been addressed as a major contributing factor to inflammatory reactions at the implant-abutment connection, leading to problems such as oral malodor, inflammation, and marginal bone loss. The aim of this study was to investigate in vitro the leakage at implant-abutment interface of OsseoSpeed™ implants connected to original and compatible abutments. A total of 28 OsseoSpeed implants were divided into four groups (n = 7). Each group was connected to four different abutments according to manufacturers' recommendations: group A (TiDesign™); group B (Natea™); group C (Dual™); and group D (Implanet™) abutments. The inner volume of each implant-abutment combination was calculated and leakage was detected for each group with spectrophotometric analysis at 1 h (D0) and 48 h (D1) of incubation time using Rhodamine B. At 1 h, leakage volume was significantly lower in TiDesign and Dual than in Natea and Implanet (P < 0.001). At 48 h, however, leakage was significantly lower between TiDesign and all other systems (P < 0.005). Compatible abutments do not fit internal connection of OsseoSpeed implants perfectly, which increases the leakage of the final assembly.

Keywords: Dental implants; Rhodamine B; abutment connection; compatible abutment; implant–abutment interface; leakage.

Figure 1.

(a–d) Scanning electron microscope pictures showing the marginal gap of each combination.

Figure 2.

Placement of Rhodamine B solution inside the implant.

Figure 3.

Calibration curve was determined by linear regression considering the fluorescence (R² = 0.9948).

Figure 4.

Measurements of the inner volumes of each combination.

Figure 5.

At D0 and D1, the leakage volume of each system is shown. According to the Prism convention of significance, results were considered highly significant: ***P ≤ 0.001; ****P ≤ 0.0001.