Edison Medical’s UCLA implant abutments

Edison Medical’s UCLA implant abutments take the traditional, fully polyoxymethylene (POM) castable abutment and replace the base with a high-grade metal to improve the abutment’s strength and increase its accuracy. Edison Medical employs cobalt-chrome (CoCr) and titanium to construct the base of its UCLA abutments, both materials being considered the best for integration as a base in the castable abutment.

Edison Medical’s UCLA abutments were designed taking into account the necessity for depth and angle adjustments while facilitating a stable and precise orientation of the connection throughout the adjustment process.

Advantages of the UCLA abutment

The Edison Medical UCLA implant abutment is a cost-effective and customizable alternative to pre-milled metal abutments. Pre-milled abutments are regarded as being more durable than UCLA abutments, experiencing less misfit between fixture-abutment connection, and displaying a higher degree of marginal fit.

Edison Medical POM-based UCLA abutments offer an increased precision and strength over all-plastic castable UCLA abutments due to the incorporation of a metal (either titanium or cobalt-chrome) base. These abutments can be used to correct angulation issues, with angle adjustments of up to 30° possible when cast as a custom abutment. In certain cases, the Edison Medical UCLA implant abutment can also be used for depth correction.

The versatility of use of UCLA abutments spans both single and multi-unit abutment restorations, as well as cement-retained restorations. With the invention of the overcast UCLA abutment, specifically that in which a titanium or cobalt-chrome base was combined with a POM burnout sleeve, the indications for castable abutments expanded as a result of improved mucosal attachment of the gingiva to the surface of the abutment.

This interface is not achievable with a standard castable abutment material (POM), nor materials such as porcelain. Titanium and cobalt-chrome, however, are known for having highly biocompatible properties and reliable healing success and thus are the two materials Edison Medical uses to form the base of its UCLA abutments. 

Raw materials 

All Edison Medical UCLA implant abutments are equipped with a polyoxymethylene (POM) burnout sleeve.

Two high-grade metal options are available for the abutment base: cobalt-chrome or titanium. The chemical composition of the cobalt-chrome used by Edison Medical is 66% cobalt, 27% chrome, 6% molybdenum and <1% nickel. All titanium bases are produced from the finest quality titanium, Ti-6AL-4V-ELI.

From ‘gold standard’ to ‘cobalt-chrome standard’

The use of cobalt-chrome frameworks in dentistry began in 1929 when they were incorporated predominantly into removable partial dentures, and in recent decades their use has been expanded to a wider range of implantology indications.

While gold was originally considered the prosthetic standard due to properties such as ductility and biocompatibility, it fell quickly out of popularity due to high demand and price. Cobalt-chrome replaced gold’s popularity, being a much more cost-effective substitute with similarly excellent mechanical and biocompatible properties.

Not only is CoCr prized as a material in implant dentistry for its stiffness and bond strength, but it is also highly resistant to corrosion and has a high melting threshold.

What is a UCLA abutment?

A UCLA abutment is a castable abutment that, rather than being composed entirely of plastic burnout material, features a metal base often composed of titanium or cobalt-chrome (CoCr). The metal base of the UCLA abutment elevates the abutment’s strength and final restoration precision compared to results obtained with a standard POM castable abutment. It also improves hemidesmosomal attachment between implant surface and gingiva compared to the all-POM castable abutment, which is not able to achieve this gingival-abutment interface.

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