EFFECTS OF THERMOCYCLING, LOAD-CYCLING, AND BLOOD CONTAMINATION ON CEMENTED IMPLANT ABUTMENTS

This study compared the effects of thermocycling, load-cycling, and hu man blood contamination on the retentive strength of five different ce ments for luting posts to root-form implants. For each cement, 10 spec imens (controls) were stored in an incubator, 10 specimens were thermo cycled, 10 specimens were subjected to cyclic compressive loading, 10 specimens were subjected to a combination of thermocycling and cyclic compressive loading, and 10 specimens were contaminated with blood bef ore cementation, then exposed to a combination of thermocycling and co mpressive loading. After 70 hours, retentive tests were performed on t he Instron machine, and data were recorded in kilograms. Significant r etentive differences were identified among the cements and with load-c ycling, but minimal effect on the retentive strength was demonstrated from thermocycling. Blood contamination in combination with thermocycl ing and load-cycling adversely affected the retentive strengths of all of the cements and could be a major cause of abutment failure in dent al implants.