Statement of problem. Abutment screw loosening of single and multiple
fixed partial dentures attached to external hexagonal implants is comm
only encountered. Purpose. A technique that has been reported to preve
nt abutment screw loosening was tested with cyclic loading to determin
e its effectiveness. Material and methods. A sample using identical co
mponents and test protocol, with the abutment screw tightened to 20 Nc
m, was used as control. Results. On the basis of the data obtained, th
e recommended technique does not increase resistance to screw loosenin
g. The control sample sustained a mean number of cycles to screw loose
ning of more than twice that of the technique evaluated.