GTB - Implant connection

Perfect seal

To achieve our aims, we opted to ensure the seal between implant and prosthetic abutment through an 11° tapered coupling. This choice guarantees the formation of a proper seal between both fixture and abutment. At the same time, however, it also ensures an easy positioning and removal of prosthetic components thanks to a 10 mm² conical coupling surface. Furthermore, an 11° taper allows for an optimised load transfer from the abutment to the implant and consequently to the bone. The fixture-abutment coupling has an octagonal anti-rotation index. Thanks to this geometrical characteristic it is possible to easily use prefinished abutments and to quickly find the right positioning of the prosthetic components.

Fewer necessary components

Implant-prosthetic connections are available with a single diameter that fits all implant screw diameter sizes. This choice significantly reduces the number of necessary prosthetic components, with a consequent decrease in expenditure for dental practices, and simplifies the information transfer between the dental practice and the laboratory. This type of vertical connection and the existence of a single-size diameter for implant-prosthetic connections lead to an unavoidable horizontal prosthetic platform shifting: the difference between the diameter of the implant screw and that of the prosthetic component increases as the diameter of the implant screw widens.
The GTB implant optimizes the concept of platform shifting by also introducing vertical platform shifting (for GTB Regular and GTB Wide implants). The combination of horizontal and vertical platform shifting dramatically increases the coronal osteointegrable implant surface (just think that for GTB Wide implants with 4.3 mm diameter, the combination of horizontal and vertical platform shifting provides an additional 9.0 mm² of osteointegrable implant surface). Moreover, it further distances the fixture-abutment junction point from the outer edge of the implant neck (distance between prosthetic connection and edge of the implant neck: GTB Narrow = 0.35 mm; GTB Regular = 0.6 mm and GTB Wide = 0.95 mm). Lastly, a geometrically complex platform shifting, like the one of the GTB implant, lowers the load transmission point through the implant neck, making this implant biomechanically superior even in case of a juxta-crestal positioning.

Protection of soft tissues

To perfectly complement one of the best implant screws and implant-prosthetic connections for their biomechanical features, comparative laboratory tests and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses, it was necessary to find suitable prosthetic solutions. The prefinished components of the GTB implant system present modern emergence profiles characterized by slim abutments at the implant coronal level to ensure the maximum possible volume for peri-implant soft tissues, so that they can perform their function as a biological seal as well as possible. Protecting peri-implant soft tissues is crucial when aesthetic prosthetic rehabilitation is required to remain stable over time. Soft tissues should not be chronically inflamed due to unstable and imprecise implant-prosthetic connections; on the contrary, they must have enough volume to recreate the appropriate thickness to fulfil their function as a biological seal and must not be compressed by unfit emergence profiles.

Better aesthetic results

This improves the aesthetic value of prosthetic rehabilitation. Better aesthetic results are also achieved by employing prefinished abutments, thanks to thicker connective tissues and to abutments covered by biomedical titanium nitride (certified TiN treatment) to improve the colour scheme without using expensive aesthetic materials for abutment customization. Obviously, as there is only one diameter size for implant-prosthetic connections, different emergence diameters are available according to the most suitable abutment for each clinical case. Even now, the subcrestal positioning turns out to be a beneficial indication as it increases the width between the prosthetic interface of the implant screw and the coronal mucosal margin, thus guaranteeing compliance with the biologic width.