Abutment definition

An abutment is a type of substructure that is typically used by engineers in creating bridges, dams, and arches. Abutments also play an important role in dentistry, particularly in the creation of dental implants. Much like the part they play in engineering, dental abutments offer key structural support, providing strength and durability to the dental implants that support prosthetic teeth and dentures.

How does an abutment work?

An abutment is positioned at the weight-bearing ends of a structure in need of support; at the ends of a bridge, for example, or where a dam ends on either side. While the abutment itself is typically not an important visual component of the design or even a component that many people notice, its presence is what makes the overall edifice structurally sound. If you’ve ever driven over a bridge and wondered how it is able to support itself and all of the vehicles that pass over it, that’s your answer: abutments!

Abutments can be either man-made or existing in nature; the abutments that buttress dams, for example, are often carved out of the very valley or gorge that it exists within. While this kind of utilization of natural structures does require modification, it allows for seamless and almost invisible integration into the natural landscape, which can offer cosmetic benefits.

There are as many kinds of abutments as there are the structures they support, from gravity abutments to U-shaped abutments to stub abutments. Abutments can provide either vertical or horizontal support, depending on the needs of the structure. What they all have in common, though, is their key role in holding up the structures that they support. Without abutments, engineering would be much more limited in terms of what its practitioners are able to accomplish!

What is a dental abutment?

Much like engineers, dentists would have a far more limited set of options in terms of tooth replacement if it weren’t for the benefits that abutments provide. In replacing missing teeth via dental implants, for example, abutments play a crucial role in supporting prosthetic teeth and even full arches of implant retained or implant supported dentures.

In dental implants, the abutment is the small piece that connects the implant fixture (the small post that is embedded into the jawbone via an initial surgical procedure) to the prosthesis above the gumline. Essentially, it is what connects the substructure below the gums (the implant fixture) with the feature that exists seemingly naturally on top of them. Just like a bridge abutment transfers the force of the weight of the concrete and cars that it holds up to a structure below ground that absorbs it, the dental abutment transfers the force of biting and chewing with prosthetic teeth to the deep structural support of the implant fixture, which mimics the roots of your naturally existing teeth. While it generally remains unseen and you’ll likely forget about it as soon as it is installed, it is nevertheless an important part of the dental implant that will give structural support to your prosthetic teeth for years.

Dental Implant Crowns