ABSTRACT
The biomechanical stability of the implant-abutment assembly is one of the most important factors affecting the both success of the prosthetic rehabilitation and the maintenance of bone and soft tissue levels. Instability of the connection occurs with micromovements of the abutments, which lead to screw loosening and subsequent prosthetic complications, such loss of retention or fractures of the structures (Hsu, Fu, Al-Hezaimi, & Wang, 2012). Micromovements of the abutments have also been associated to the induction of significant bone loss (Hermann, Schoolfield, Schenk, Buser, & Cochran, 2001; King, Hermann, Schoolfield, Buser, & Cochran, 2002), due to stress and strain transmittal from the prosthetic rehabilitation to the most cervical part of the implant and crestal bone (Lin, Shen, & Huang, 2013; Wazen et al., 2013).
