The effect of commercially pure titanium and alternative dental alloys on the marginal fit of one-piece cast implant frameworks.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to measure and compare the passive fit and vertical fit of one-piece cast frameworks fabricated with three different materials: commercially pure titanium (CP Ti), cobalt-chromium alloy (Co-Cr) and nickel-chromium-titanium alloy (Ni-Cr-Ti).
Methods: Fifteen frameworks simulating bars for fixed prosthesis in a model with five implants were fabricated and arranged into three different groups according to the material used. The fit of the framework abutment interface was measured using an optical microscope, when only one screw was manually tightened at a terminal abutment (passive fit) or when all framework screws were tightened to 10 N cm torque (vertical fit). Data were statistically analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests (alpha=0.05).
Results: Mean and standard deviation values of passive fit and vertical fit are presented, respectively: CP Ti [88 (74) microm and 22 (9) microm], Co-Cr [229 (184) microm and 66 (35) microm], Ni-Cr-Ti [200 (175) microm and 32 (24) microm]. There were no significant differences between passive fit of Co-Cr and Ni-Cr-Ti frameworks (p=0.313), but both alloys were statistically different from CP Ti (p<0.001 and 0.035, respectively), which showed the best results. As for vertical fit, CP Ti and Ni-Cr-Ti alloy were statistically similar (p=0.162) and they presented a better vertical fit than Co-Cr alloy (p<0.001).
Conclusions: Within the limitations of this study, it was possible to conclude that one-piece cast frameworks resulted in unacceptable passive fit and vertical fit, no matter which material had been used to fabricate them. However, the best results were obtained using CP Ti followed by Ni-Cr-Ti and Co-Cr alloys, respectively.