Fracture resistance of zirconium abutments in rehabilitation of individual implants in the anterior sector.

A systematic review of literature.

Abstract

Prosthetic rehabilitation on dental implants has been widely used to replace the absence of dental organs, restore function and to respond to aesthetic demands. In dentistry, zirconium has had several applications, among them, it has been used as a material for the manufacture of prosthetic abutments as an alternative to titanium. Several studies have been published on fractures of these zirconia abutments, but the results have often been inconsistent. Purpose: The aim of this study is to systematically analyze the existing literature comparing the mechanical characteristics (resistance to fracture) of titanium and zirconium implant abutments in the anterior sector. Materials and Methods: Electronic search in the databases: PubMed, Scielo, ResearchGate, ScienceDirect, and Google Academic. Results: 46 articles were identified through the electronic search, 23 articles were discarded since they did not establish data referring to zirconium abutments or zirconium abutment fractures, 5 were excluded because they were duplicates. 14 articles were included for the discussion of this systematic review. Conclusions: It is concluded that titanium abutments have a better mechanical performance than zirconium abutments; however, rehabilitation with zirconium abutments is possible since they can resist the occlusal forces of the anterior sector. Keyword: zirconium abutments, abutment fracture, abutments, zirconia.