title: An abutment screw loosening study of a Diamond Like Carbon-coated CP titanium implant.
abstract: The aim of this study was to quantify the extent of abutment screw loosening and thus understand the role of frictional and wear factors in abutment screw loosening by using a cyclic loading device to compare Diamond Like Carbon (DLC)-coated and non-coated implants. The properties of DLC films, including hardness, wear resistance, chemical stability, and biocompatibility, are similar to those of real diamond materials. In this study, a 1-mum thick DLC film served to protect and lubricate a layer of commercially-pure titanium affixed to the top of a dental implant (external hexagon-shaped implant). A cyclic loading force was then applied to the top of the prosthetic portion of the implants in order to determine the difference in looseness of the titanium abutment screw between ten DLC-coated implants and ten non-coated implants. The abutment screw loosening tests were performed with 100 N of force at a frequency of 20 Hz. Data indicate that implants with a DLC coating are more resistant to an applied force (P = 0.002) than are those without the coating. We hope these results will be useful for preventing implant abutment screw loosening.
authors.affiliation: Department of Prosthodontics and Dental Research Institute, College of Dentistry, Seoul National University, Korea.
authors.forename: S K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: J B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: J Y
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Koak
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Heo
authors.forename: K R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: L R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.forename: S S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D002244:Carbon; D000044:Dental Abutments; D003758:Dental Implantation, Endosseous / Q000379:methods*; D019250:Dental Implants, Single-Tooth; D017267:Dental Prosthesis Design; D019232:Dental Restoration Failure; D003799:Dental Stress Analysis; D006801:Humans; D008422:Materials Testing; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D014025:Titanium
chemical_list: D002244:Carbon; D014025:Titanium