Why is a fully screw-retained solution important? Is there any indication for potential long-term outcomes?
As a clinician, it is really important to try and have a fully screw-retained solution in nearly all cases. In our practice, the NobelProcera angulated screw channel (ASC) abutment is something that we have used for a long time. Alongside our clinical observations, we have a laboratory that beta-tested this abutment in 2014. Since then, we have routinely used it in our restoration for many implant cases. In fact, in the last five years, the laboratory delivered over 2,000 single-unit ASC abutments to internal clinicians and external clients.

It is a very stable and well-tested solution for us. In our study, we’ve investigated over 460 abutments across a wide range of implant types, all from Nobel Biocare, and a wide range of abutment types as well: NobelProcera ASC, titanium, zirconia, full-contour (Figs. 1a–d & 2a–h).

What are the study’s conclusions?
The conclusions really match with the very low complication rates that we’ve found in our own clinical practice. There was a 98% prosthetic survival rate and only nine failures. In clinical practice, we have also audited nearly 1,300 ASC abutments and found very similar low complication rates. Finally, patient and clinician satisfaction is high at 96% and 98%, respectively. In summary, industrially manufactured individualised abutments offer excellent prosthetic stability and retrievability and a low rate of complications, providing great patient and clinician satisfaction.