Implant deformation and implant–abutment fracture resistance after standardized artificial aging: An in vitro study

Background and purpose Zirconia abutments have been widely adopted in clinical implant practice. The unique mechanical properties of zirconia may significantly affect the long‐term prognosis of implant treatments. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of abutment material on implant deformation and fracture resistance of internal conical connection implant–abutment complexes of two diameters after standardized artificial aging. Materials and methods Thirty original abutments (one‐piece titanium, one‐piece zirconia, zirconia with alloy base) with two diameters (regular, narrow) were connected to internal conical connection implants and subjected to a standardized artificial aging process consisting of thermal cycling and mechanical cyclic loading. Microcomputed tomography (μCT) scans of implant bodies were performed before and after aging. 3‐dimensional images of implant bodies were generated from the μCT scans and aligned for before and after aging to calculate the volumetric deformation amount. Finally, fracture resistance was measured using a mechanical static loading test for the surviving aged and 30 brand‐new specimens. Results All specimens survived artificial aging. No significant difference in implant deformation was found in the regular groups (p = 0.095). In narrow groups, the one‐piece zirconia group showed significantly less deformation (p 0.05). One‐piece zirconia abutments showed significantly lower strength than the other two materials for both diameters (p