Influence of different abutment materials on torque maintenance and screw loosening in implant-supported prostheses

Screw loosening remains a prevalent mechanical complication in implant-supported prostheses, compromising the stability of the abutment- implant connection under functional loading. Therefore, it is of interest to evaluate the effect of different abutment materials-titanium, zirconia and polyetheretherketone (PEEK) on torque maintenance and screw loosening after mechanical cycling. Hence, a total of 45 implant- abutment assemblies (n=15 per group)were subjected to cyclic loading of 500,000 cycles at 100 N and 2 Hz, simulating six months of masticatory function and reverse torque values were recorded before and after loading. Titanium abutments showed the highest post-cycling reverse torque (25.87 ± 1.42 Ncm), followed by zirconia (22.53 ±1.89 Ncm) and PEEK (19.27 ± 2.14 Ncm), with significant differences among groups (p <0.001). Titanium abutments exhibited superior torque maintenance and resistance to screw loosening compared to zirconia and PEEK, suggesting their clinical advantage in maintaining implant stability.