Purpose: The “one-abutment, one-time” concept entails the placement of a definitive abutment at the time of implant placement, without removal during prosthesis manufacture, with the aim to promote a safer environment for the periimplant tissues. Identifying surgical and radiographic parameters that can assist with the abutment height selection would facilitate the adoption of the one-abutment, one-time concept. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the role of surgical and radiographic parameters as predictive factors for abutment height selection in implant-retained single crowns.
Materials and Methods: This prospective study assessed the role of surgical and radiographic measurements in the implant survival and success rates and marginal bone loss in implant-retained single crowns. Implants were placed in both healed sites and extraction sockets, and the distances between the implant platform and alveolar bone crest, implant platform and gingival margin, and buccal gap (when present) were recorded using a straight periodontal probe. Digital radiographs were made at implant placement (T0), abutment height selection (Ta), and 1-year follow-up (Tf), and the distance between the implant platform and the alveolar bone crest (mm) was assessed. Linear regression models and Pearson correlation were used to assess the influence of primary and secondary outcomes on abutment height.
Results: A total of 130 implants were placed in 68 patients. The mean surgical distance between the bone crest and the implant platform was 1.71 ± 1.01 mm, and the mean distance from the gingival margin to the implant platform was 3.94 ± 1.90 mm, while at the abutment selection appointment, the mean transmucosal height was 3.58 ± 1.50 mm. A high linear correlation was found between the selected abutment height and two primary outcomes: the radiographic implant platform to alveolar bone crest distance at T0 (r2 = 0.66; P < .001) and the transmucosal height at Ta (r2 = 0.81; P < .001).
Conclusion: Radiographic measurements of the distance between the implant platform and the alveolar bone crest at implant placement can serve as an important parameter to select the abutment height for definitive restorations.