Clinical decision-making of anterior implant abutment

Abutment is an important component serving as a connecting link between the implant and the implant-supported prosthesis. In accordance with mechanical, biological, and other conventional norms, it can compensate the deviation between the implant and the prosthesis, which plays a significant role in maintaining the health of peri-implant tissue and the longevity, stability, and effectivity of prosthesis. However, choosing an anterior implant abutment correctly and conveniently is challenging, given the great variety of anterior abutment in clinical practice. Through virtual implant design, the correct implant site was compared and selected, and the supra-target prosthesis was coordinated before and after the operation. The implant level vertical of height of target restoration space (I) was measured to predict the availability and the retentive method of the implant restoration. After implantation, the primary selection of abutment type was selected according to the implant system (S), screw access position, and retentive method of the prosthesis. The final selection of abutment is accomplished by combining the measured values of peri-implant soft tissue thickness (T), gingival height (GH), and long axis of implant (L). Furthermore, the concepts and the classified applications of custom abutment were discussed in detail in this paper. The plan's main control variables L, I, GH, T, and S compose the words Lights, so this plan can be abbreviated as the anterior abutment decision tree. The decision tree has good decision-making efficiency and high clinical accessibility.