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The Esthetic Effect of Veneered Zirconia Abutments for Single‐Tooth Implant Reconstructions: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial
Author(s) -
Thoma Daniel S,
Brandenberg Francine,
Fehmer Vincent,
Knechtle Nathalie,
Hämmerle Christoph HF,
Sailer Irena
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
clinical implant dentistry and related research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.338
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1708-8208
pISSN - 1523-0899
DOI - 10.1111/cid.12388
Subject(s) - abutment , dentistry , cubic zirconia , materials science , implant , dental abutments , crown (dentistry) , orthodontics , medicine , composite material , surgery , ceramic , civil engineering , engineering
Purpose The purposes of this study were to test whether or not veneering of the submucosal part of zirconia abutments can positively influence the esthetic outcome compared with nonveneered zirconia abutments; to evaluate the influence of the mucosal thickness on the esthetic outcomes of the veneered and nonveneered abutments; and to evaluate the thickness of the peri‐implant mucosa compared with the thickness of the gingiva of contralateral tooth sites. Materials and Methods Forty‐four single‐tooth implants in 44 patients were randomly restored with either cemented ( CR ) or screw‐retained ( SR ) reconstructions based on white zirconia abutments ( CR ‐ W , SR ‐ W ) or pink‐veneered zirconia abutments ( CR ‐ P , SR ‐ P ). Esthetic outcome measurements were performed based on a spectrophotometric evaluation of the peri‐implant mucosal color. In addition, the thickness of the mucosa was measured. A two‐way analysis of variance was conducted to test the effect of veneering (pink vs white) and mucosa thickness (<2 mm vs ≥2 mm) on the calculated color difference Δ E for pooled data of CR and SR reconstructions ( p < .05). Results Analyses grouping the sites according to veneering of the abutments and mucosal thickness demonstrated less discoloration for sites with a veneered abutment irrespective of the mucosal thickness: ΔE 4.50 ± 1.93 (<2 mm) and ΔE 6.88 ± 2.45 (≥2 mm); CR ‐ P , SR ‐ P ) compared with sites without veneering ΔE 9.72 ± 3.82 (<2 mm; CR ‐ W , SR ‐ W ) and ΔE 8.31 ± 2.98 (≥2 mm). The differences between veneered and nonveneered abutments were significant ( p = .032). Conclusions Veneering of zirconia abutments with pink veneering ceramic positively influenced the peri‐implant mucosal color.