Dimensional and microbiological in vitro analysis of a dental implant locking taper connection.

The present study was conducted to compare, by using X-ray micro-tomography, the differences in contact height and contact area between the implant-abutment interface and the implant-healing cap interface, of an implant system featuring a locking tapered connection; and to test in vitro whether the implant-healing cap tapered interface is capable of preventing bacterial leakage from the implant well to the external environment. The images of the samples, acquired by the X-ray micro-tomography, after being processed with a dedicated software, showed a greater contact height (CH) in the implant-abutment sample (3,57 mm) compared to the implant-healing cap sample (2,52 mm). This was also true for the contact area that was equal to 40,63 mm2 in the implant-abutment sample and 25,14 mm2 in the implant-healing cap sample. No bacteria were detected in the nutrient both of the test group after 24 hours. An increased contact height and contact area in a tapered connection, between the implant and the abutment, have demonstrated to offer mechanical and biological ad-vantages, in a implant-healing cap tapered connection, the major concern regards the microbiological aspects of this connection. The implant-healing cap tapered connection provides an hermetic barrier to microbial passage in vitro, even though such connection features lower contact height and contact area compared to the implant-abutment connection of the same implant system.