Reuse of Implant Healing Abutments: A Narrative Review
Main Article Content
Abstract
Healing abutments support peri-implant soft tissue healing and protect implants during osseointegration. Despite being marketed as single-use, reuse is widespread, raising concerns about sterilisation, microbial safety, and long-term outcomes. This review of 20 studies (2020–2025) shows that while abutments aid healing, sterilisation often fails to eliminate biofilm or residues. Reuse causes surface changes that promote bacterial adhesion and reduce cell viability. However, clinical evidence has not confirmed links to implant failure or peri-implantitis. Emerging solutions, such as antimicrobial coatings and drug-releasing systems, appear promising but require further validation.
Keywords:
Healing abutments, Dental implants, Peri-implantitis, Biofilm, Sterilisation, Surface modification
Article Details
How to Cite
ČEBATARIŪNIENĖ, Alina; GERLIAKAITĖ, Teodora.
Reuse of Implant Healing Abutments: A Narrative Review.
Medical Research Archives, [S.l.], v. 13, n. 10, oct. 2025.
ISSN 2375-1924.
Available at: <https://esmed.org/MRA/mra/article/view/7002>. Date accessed: 06 dec. 2025.
doi: https://doi.org/10.18103/mra.v13i10.7002.
Section
Review Articles
The Medical Research Archives grants authors the right to publish and reproduce the unrevised contribution in whole or in part at any time and in any form for any scholarly non-commercial purpose with the condition that all publications of the contribution include a full citation to the journal as published by the Medical Research Archives.
References
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18. Zhou W, Liang J, Huang X, Weir MD, Masri R, Oates TW, Xu HHK, Cheng L. Novel antibacterial titanium implant healing abutment with dimethylaminohexadecyl methacrylate to combat implant-related infections. Dent Mater. 2024 Feb;40(2):244–253. doi:10.1016/j.dental.2023.11.011. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37981511/
19. Maleki Dizaj S, Torab A, Kouhkani S, Sharifi S, Negahdari R, Bohlouli S, Fattahi S, Salatin S. Gelatin–Curcumin Nanocomposites as a Coating for Implant Healing Abutment: In Vitro Stability Investigation. Clin Pract. 2023;13(1):88-101. https://doi.org/10.3390/clinpract13010009. Available at: https://www.mdpi.com/2039-7283/13/1/9
20. Li W, Huang Z. Coral-inspired anti-biofilm therapeutic abutments as a new paradigm for prevention and treatment of peri-implant infection. SmartMat. 2024;5(6):e1284. doi:10.1002/smm2.1284. Available at: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/smm2.1284
2. Canullo L, Rakic M, Corvino E, Burton M, Krumbeck JA, Chittoor Prem A, Ravidà A, Ignjatović N, Sculean A, Menini M, Pesce P. Effect of argon plasma pre-treatment of healing abutments on peri-implant microbiome and soft tissue integration: a proof-of-concept randomized study. BMC Oral Health. 2023;23(1):27. doi:10.1186/s12903-023-02729-1. Available at: https://bmcoralhealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12903-023-02729-1
3. Chokaree P, Poovarodom P, Chaijareenont P, Rungsiyakull P. Effect of Customized and Prefabricated Healing Abutments on Peri-Implant Soft Tissue and Bone in Immediate Implant Sites: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Journal of Clinical Medicine. 2024;13(3):886. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm13030886
4. Paganotto G, Zimmer R, Klein-Junior CA-A, Rivaldo E-G. Reuse of healing abutments: Ethical, biological and professional training implications. J Clin Exp Dent. 2022 Oct 1;14(10):e822–e826. doi:10.4317/jced.59831. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9617269/
5. Burioni R, Silvestrini L, D’Orto B, Tetè G, Nagni M, Polizzi E, Gherlone EF. Could Dental Material Reuse Play a Significant Role in Preservation of Raw Materials, Water, Energy, and Costs? Microbiological Analysis of New versus Reused Healing Abutments: An In Vitro Study. Bioengineering. 2024;11(4):387. https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering11040387
6. Kyaw TT, Abdou A, Nakata H, Pimkhaokham A. Dental implant healing abutment decontamination: A systematic review of in vitro studies. Eur J Oral Implantol. 2022 Nov;15(4):311–324. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36377623/
7. Barreiros P, Braga J, Faria-Almeida R, Coelho C, Teughels W, Souza JCM. Remnant oral biofilm and microorganisms after autoclaving sterilization of retrieved healing abutments. J Periodont Res. 2021 Apr;56(2):415–422. doi:10.1111/jre.12834. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33368278/
8. Shelke A, Tandel S, Subhadarsanee C, Gaikwad S, Oza R. The Reuse of Healing Abutments: A Questionnaire-Based Survey. Cureus. 2024 Sep 10;16(9):e69054. doi:10.7759/cureus.69054. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39391432/
9. Naghsh N, Hosseini A, Mogharehabed A, Yaghini J, Pezeshki Z, Khaleghi N. A comparison of four decontamination procedures in reusing healing abutments: An in vitro study. Saudi Dent J. 2024 Aug;36(8):1141–1145. doi:10.1016/j.sdentj.2024.06.013. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39176159/
10. Jain SS, Schramm STJ, Siddiqui DA, Huo W, Palmer KL, Wilson TG Jr, Rodrigues DC. Effects of multiple implantations of titanium healing abutments: Surface characteristics and microbial colonization. Dent Mater. 2020 Sep;36(9):e279–e291. doi:10.1016/j.dental.2020.05.016. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7429256/
11. Jain SS, Siddiqui DA, Wheelis SE, Palmer KL, Thomas GW, Rodrigues DC. Mammalian cell response and bacterial adhesion on titanium healing abutments: effect of multiple implantation and sterilization cycles. Clin Oral Investig. 2021; 25(8):2633–2644. doi:10.1007/s00784-020-03574-0. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32944837/
12. Lee WW, Kim HJ, Jeong SH, Choi YG, Lee DW. In Vitro Analysis of Structural Integrity and Surface Alterations of Reused Healing Abutments. Appl Sci (Basel). 2025;15(7):3270. PMCID: PMC12135462. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12135462/
13. Morsy MSM, Hassan AA-H, Alshawkani HA, Mattoo KA, Mathur A, Fiorillo L. Effect of repeated moist heat sterilization on titanium implant-abutment interface—An in vitro study. Eur J Dent. 2024 Jul; 18(3):860–868. doi:10.1055/s-0043-1776314. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11290932/
14. Bidra AS, Kejriwal S, Bhuse K. Should healing abutments and cover screws for dental implants be reused? A systematic review. J Prosthodont. 2020 Jan;29(1):42–48. doi:10.1111/jopr.13106. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31453645/
15. Lashkarizadeh N, Foroudisefat M, Abyari S, Mohammadi M, Lashkarizadeh L. Is it safe to reuse healing abutments? An experimental study on IL-1β and TNF-α cytokine levels in peri-implant crevicular fluid. J Prosthodont. 2022 Jun;31(5):399-404. doi:10.1111/jopr.13474. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34962679
16. Odatsu T, Kuroshima S, Sato M, Takase K, Valanezhad A, Naito M, Sawase T. Antibacterial properties of nano-Ag coating on healing abutment: An in vitro and clinical study. Antibiotics (Basel). 2020 Jun 19;9(6):347. doi:10.3390/antibiotics9060347. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32575552/
17. Wychowański P, Nowak M, Miskiewicz A, Morawiec T, Woliński J, Kucharski Z, Passarelli PC, Bodnarenko A, Lopez MA. The Effectiveness of a Bioactive Healing Abutment as a Local Drug Delivery System to Impact Peri-Implant Mucositis: A Prospective Case Series Study. Pharmaceutics. 2022 Dec 30;15(1):138. doi:10.3390/pharmaceutics15010138. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9866183/
18. Zhou W, Liang J, Huang X, Weir MD, Masri R, Oates TW, Xu HHK, Cheng L. Novel antibacterial titanium implant healing abutment with dimethylaminohexadecyl methacrylate to combat implant-related infections. Dent Mater. 2024 Feb;40(2):244–253. doi:10.1016/j.dental.2023.11.011. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37981511/
19. Maleki Dizaj S, Torab A, Kouhkani S, Sharifi S, Negahdari R, Bohlouli S, Fattahi S, Salatin S. Gelatin–Curcumin Nanocomposites as a Coating for Implant Healing Abutment: In Vitro Stability Investigation. Clin Pract. 2023;13(1):88-101. https://doi.org/10.3390/clinpract13010009. Available at: https://www.mdpi.com/2039-7283/13/1/9
20. Li W, Huang Z. Coral-inspired anti-biofilm therapeutic abutments as a new paradigm for prevention and treatment of peri-implant infection. SmartMat. 2024;5(6):e1284. doi:10.1002/smm2.1284. Available at: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/smm2.1284