Know your Implant Connections

S. Singla; L. Kumar; M. Rathee

S. Singla Professor and Head Department of Prosthodontics, Dr HSJIDS,P.U., Chandigarh,India
L. Kumar Associate Professor Department of Prosthodontics, Dr HSJIDS, P.U., Chandigarh,India
M. Rathee Snr Professor and Head Department of Prosthodontics, Pandit BD Sharma University of Health Sciences Rohtak,Haryana,India

Abstract

Background: Implant abutment connection is the point of transition from surgical to prosthetic phase and is the primary determinant of strength and stability of implant supported prosthesis. There are a huge number of implant designs in the market, all claiming to have better clinical results. Materials and Methods: A search of electronic database from 1990 to 2014 in Pubmed search engine using key words like ‘Implant-abutment interface’, ‘Abutment connection’ , ‘External Hex’, ‘Internal hex’, ‘Morse taper’alone or in combination was performed for critical evaluation of contemporary implant designs. Result and Discussion: There is a pleothora of implant designs vying for supremacy in the market. This review informs the clinicians regarding inherent differences in design characteristics and clinical applications of various implant-abutment connections so as to enable them to chose a design which ensures simplified restorative phase, minimal complications and cost effectiveness.