Comparative evaluation of surface roughness of three different dental implant abutments using atomic force microscopy: An in vitro study

Abstract

The resistance of the periimplant tissues to inflammation is evidently much lower with the implant than that of natural teeth. In order to maintain periimplant health, and prevent implant failure, it is important to understand the relationship between abutment surface characteristics and plaque attachment. The aim of this study is to assess whether the surface roughness of three commercially available dental implant abutments are less than or equal to the clinical threshold value R(a) 0.2µm for bacterial retention that may eventually contribute to periimplantitis. Abutments from Adin, Nobel Biocare, and Myriad implant systems are sectioned into 2×2 mm dimension samples using High Speed Stainless cutting tools. To investigate the surface microstructure of the samples, three dimensional imaging and numeric analysis are done using AFM (Atomic Force Microscope). The results showed that the surface roughness values of the three groups Adin, Myriad and Nobel Biocare are less than the clinical threshold value R(a) 0.2µm and among them Myriad has the least surface roughness. Since the surface roughnesses are less than 0.2 μm, it was concluded that professionals can give preference to any of the abutments systems.