Purpose: To evaluate the use of a new resin metal opaquer on the surface of titanium abutments, in combination with two luting agents, and its effect on the retentive strength of implant-supported zirconia copings.

Materials and methods: Sixty customized titanium abutments were designed and fabricated with virtual design software and a milling machine. Thirty abutment specimens were coated with metal opaquers, and the others were not coated. Then, the titanium abutments were fitted into the implant analogs, and the abutment-implant analog complexes were embedded in acrylic resin blocks. Sixty CAD/CAM-fabricated zirconia copings were seated on the abutments and secured with glassionomer cement or self-adhesive resin cement. The specimens were stored in 100% humidity for 1 hour and artificial saliva for 23 hours at 37°C before thermocycling for 5,000 cycles of 5°C to 55°C with a 30-second dwell time. The retentive strength was measured using a pull-out test with a universal testing machine. The dislodgment forces were statistically analyzed via two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). The failure modes were evaluated and categorized by examining the fracture surface.

Results: The metal opaquer material had a significant negative effect on retention of zirconia copings. The nonopaquer titanium abutments showed significantly (P < .05) higher retentive strength than the metal opaquer abutments. Comparing the cements, the retentive strength values of self-adhesive resin cement were significantly higher than those of glass-ionomer cement. The metal opaquer groups exhibited mostly mixed-type failures, a combination of adhesive failures and cohesive failures, whereas the nonopaquer groups showed mostly adhesive-type failures.

Conclusion: The titanium abutments coated with the new metal opaquer material resulted in a reduction of retentive strength. Self-adhesive resin cements exhibited significantly higher retention than glass-ionomer cements.