Influence of abutment material on the shade of dental implant restorations in the esthetic zone: a single case report

High esthetic demand and expectation challenges the rehabilitation of the esthetic zone with dental implants. Most implant system manufacturers offer customized and prefabricated ceramic, specifically zirconia or alumina abutments, as an alternative to titanium or gold alloy abutments, with the aid of computer-aided designing/computer aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) technology. A 45-year-old male patient was referred to the prosthodontics clinic for the restoration of maxillary central incisors with all ceramic dental implants. After healing, both implants were restored with all-ceramic crowns but different customized abutment materials for the purpose of comparison. The all-ceramic crown was cemented on a customized zirconia abutment at the implant site # 11 and on a customized gold alloy abutment at implant site # 21. The treating dentist as well as two prosthodontists performed a meticulous clinical examination to compare the ceramic crowns side by side and agreed that the outcome was esthetically satisfactory. The patient was satisfied with the esthetics and functional outcome of the final restorations, as was the prosthodontist.