A rationale method for evaluating unscrewing torque values of prosthetic screws in dental implants

OBJECTIVES Previous studies that evaluated the torque needed for removing dental implant screws have not considered the manner of transfer of the occlusal loads in clinical settings. Instead, the torque used for removal was applied directly to the screw, and most of them omitted the possibility that the hexagon could limit the action of the occlusal load in the loosening of the screws. The present study proposes a method for evaluating the screw removal torque in an anti-rotational device independent way, creating an unscrewing load transfer to the entire assembly, not only to the screw. MATERIAL AND METHODS Twenty hexagonal abutments without the hexagon in their bases were fixed with a screw to 20 dental implants. They were divided into two groups: Group 1 used titanium screws and Group 2 used titanium screws covered with a solid lubricant. A torque of 32 Ncm was applied to the screw and then a custom-made wrench was used for rotating the abutment counterclockwise, to loosen the screw. A digital torque meter recorded the torque required to loosen the abutment. RESULTS There was a significant difference between the means of Group 1 (38.62 ± 6.43 Ncm) and Group 2 (48.47 ± 5.04 Ncm), with p=0.001. CONCLUSION This methodology was effective in comparing unscrewing torque values of the implant-abutment junction even with a limited sample size. It confirmed a previously shown significant difference between two types of screws.