Implant Abutment Dis-/Reconnection and Peri-Implant Marginal Bone Loss.

The volunteers will receive one or two dental implant(s) placed by a surgical procedure, under local anesthesia and careful soft and hard tissue handling. After implant insertion, the volunteers will be randomly assigned to one arm.

At the active comparator arm, each implant will receive a titanium healing abutment during the surgery, according to manufacturer's recommendations. Three dis-/reconnections of abutments will be performed after the soft tissue healing period: the first, after 8 weeks, for adjustment of the emergence profile by healing abutment changing; the second, 10 weeks after surgery, for intra-oral prosthetic abutment selection; and the third, 12 weeks after surgery, for the prosthetic abutment definitive connection with the manufacturer recommended torque.

Each experimental arm implant will receive its definitive prosthetic abutment at the surgical procedure. The manufacturer recommended torque will be applied so that no disconnection of the abutment will occur during and after completion of the treatment. The abutment will receive healing caps, which shall remain in position until the end of 12 weeks after surgery.