Custom Morse taper zirconia abutments: Influence on marginal fit and torque loss before and after thermomechanical cycling

The use of zirconia abutments has increased because of aesthetics, but sometimes customization is necessary and its effect is unclear. This study evaluated the marginal fit and torque loss of customized and non-customized aesthetic zirconia abutments associated with Morse taper implants before and after thermomechanical cycling. Twenty-four implant/abutment/crown sets were divided into three groups (N = 8): Zr - non-customized zirconia abutments, Zrc - customized zirconia abutments, and Ti - titanium abutments. The ceramic crowns of the upper canines were made. All of the abutments were tightened with 15-N.cm torque, and the crowns were cemented on the abutments. The misfits and torque loss were measured before and after thermomechanical cycling. The marginal fit was evaluated in two planes throughout 10 different slices, 30 measurements for each face (i.e., buccal, palatal, mesial and distal) and 120 measurements for each sample. A load of 100 N, a frequency of 2 Hz and 1000,000 cycles with temperature variation of 5 °−55 °C were used for thermomechanical cycling. Thermomechanical cycling significantly decreased the marginal misfit only with the Zrc (p = 0.002), and the Ti was significantly different from the Zr and Zrc before and after thermomechanical cycling. Thermomechanical cycling did not affect the torque losses of the groups, but a significant difference between the Zr and Zrc (p = 0.0345) before cycling was noted. Customization of zirconia abutments does not significantly affect torque loss and marginal misfit after thermomechanical cycling suggesting that they can be safe for clinical utilization.