Impact of different implant abutment materials on peri-implant soft tissues

Beyond successful osseointegration, maintaining healthy peri-implant soft tissues is essential for the long-term success of dental implants. The choice of abutment material profoundly influences tissue response, plaque accumulation, esthetics and inflammation around implant sites. Therefore, it is of interest to assess the effect of titanium, zirconia and hybrid abutments on peri-implant soft tissue health in 100 patients rehabilitated with implant-supported prostheses. Parameters evaluated included plaque index, gingival index, probing depth, bleeding on probing and mucosal thickness over defined follow-up periods. Zirconia abutments showed superior soft tissue color match and lower bleeding tendency, hybrid abutments produced intermediate results and titanium abutments demonstrated slightly higher plaque retention but acceptable tissue compatibility. Thus, we show that ceramic-based abutments may enhance soft tissue harmony and reduce peri-implant inflammatory responses, particularly in esthetic zones.