Zirconia on implants is fantastic — and unforgiving. Screw-retained vs. cemented changes your failure mode completely.
Screw-retained
No cement, no peri-implantitis risk from excess, and retrievable. Use a zirconia-compatible titanium base; never seat zirconia directly on a titanium abutment without a cushion — metal-on-ceramic galvanic wear is slow but real.
Cemented
Better aesthetics, but a single grain of excess cement left subgingivally is the leading cause of late implant loss. Use a temp cement or a vented crown.
Abutment note
- Keep the zirconia 1–1.5 mm out of the soft tissue.
- Torque to the manufacturer's spec; over-torque cracks the abutment.
Pair with a matched zirconia grade for the crown and a titanium base.
Custom vs stock abutment
A CAD/CAM zirconia custom abutment follows the soft-tissue contour you designed, not the stock angle. For a 30° off-axis implant, custom is the difference between a clean margin and a gap.
Seat protocol
- Torque the titanium base to the maker's value; zirconia bonds to the base, not the implant.
- Use a resin-modified glass ionomer or soft cement; zinc stays out of the sulcus.
- Confirm the crown seats with no rock; a 20 µm rock becomes a fracture line.
Bond the crown to the abutment, not to the implant — the base takes the torque.