Marginal bone and soft tissue behavior following platform switching abutment connection/disconnection--a dog model...

Area of Science:

• Dental Implantology
• Periodontology
• Prosthodontics

Background:

• Platform switching is a prosthetic concept used in dental implants.
• The impact of repeated abutment manipulation on peri-implant tissues requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effect of repeated platform switching abutment removal and reconnection on marginal peri-implant bone and soft tissues.
• To compare outcomes between a test group with continuous abutment connection and a control group with repeated disconnection.

Main Methods:

• A 9-month animal study involving Beagle dogs with 24 bone level implants.
• Comparison of continuous abutment connection (test) versus five instances of abutment disconnection (control) during prosthetic procedures.
• Histomorphometric analysis of the distance from abutment shoulder to bone implant contact (S-BIC) and apical end of barrier epithelium to bone implant contact (aBE-BC).

Main Results:

• No statistically significant differences in S-BIC distance between test and control groups.
• A statistically significant difference in aBE-BC was observed on the buccal side of Pm3 implants (P=0.046).
• The control group exhibited 0.57 mm more recession than the test group, a statistically significant finding (P < 0.001).

Conclusions:

• Repeatedly connecting and disconnecting platform switching abutments during the prosthetic phase does not induce marginal bone loss.
• This manipulation may negatively affect buccal connective tissue attachment, leading to shorter attachment, which may prevent marginal hard tissue resorption, especially in thin biotypes.