Abutment Definition

Dentists use special terms to identify different components of dental fixtures. When a bridge, denture or implant needs to be secured in place, dentists will use an abutment. Abutments just connect the dental fixture to your mouth; they can be teeth in your mouth or implants. No matter the type of abutment, they are designed to support the dental fixture. Depending on your dental treatment plan, the style of abutment will vary.

Bridge Abutments

Dental bridges are used to replace missing teeth and the false teeth are held in place with teeth abutments. Depending on the type of bridge, there may be one or two teeth used to hold the replacement tooth in place. The dentist will use the tooth on either side of the missing tooth to attach the dental bridge and keep it in place with crowns on each tooth.

Partial Denture Abutments

Like dental bridges, partial dentures replace missing teeth and are held in place with abutments. Unlike bridges, partial dentures can use a variety of attachments including rest seats, guide planes and recontouring. Rest seats are areas of the teeth where rests attach to dentures. Guide planes are naturally occurring or created to help secure the partial dentures.

Implant Abutments

Dentists use implants to replace missing teeth by surgically placing an implant below the gum. The implant bonds to the jaw bone and acts as the natural tooth root for the replacement tooth. The prosthetic tooth is a false tooth that functions like a natural tooth. The prosthetic tooth is attached to the implant with a prosthetic implant abutment which can be composed of titanium, stainless steel or even gold.

Some dentists even use ceramic abutments with ceramic crowns to give the dental implant the most natural tooth appearance. Due to the nature of the material, it is important to note that ceramic abutments require more delicate use. Ceramic is not as strong as titanium, stainless steel, gold, and other metals which are better to use for implants located further back in your mouth.

Three Piece Implant

When the dentist uses a three-piece implant, a screw butt joint is used to secured the abutment on the implant. The dentist will use a dental torque wrench to tighten the screw to an optimal torque to ensure the screw will not loosen when you are chewing. A properly designed screw will prevent counter clock wise twisting that can happen when you are eating.

Two Piece Implant

When the dentist uses a two-piece implant, the abutment is morse tapered or cold welded to the implant to attach the prosthetic tooth to the implant. When the dentist uses more tapered abutments, implants have been shown to have a 98% survival rate. The replacement tooth is secured in place in a way that prevents bacteria from causing inflammation between the tooth and the gums or even jaw bone loss.

One Piece Implant

When the dentist uses a one-piece implant, the abutment used is a trans-mucosal one and can be placed shortly after placing the implant.

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