Abutment system and dental methods

A dental method, which comprises:

• providing an abutment system including a universal soft tissue level abutment part adapted to be attached to a bone level dental implant;
• attaching the universal soft tissue level abutment part to an internal connection interface of the bone level dental implant installed in the jawbone of a patient with an abutment screw such that an apical portion of the universal soft tissue level abutment part adjacent and above the coronal end of the bone level dental implant has an outer diameter smaller than an outer diameter of the bone level dental implant at the coronal end and a coronal portion of the universal soft tissue level abutment part has an outer diameter larger than the outer diameter of the apical portion of the universal soft tissue level abutment part above the coronal end of the bone level dental implant, the universal soft tissue level abutment part comprising a soft tissue collar having a coronal flat circumferential platform, the coronal flat circumferential platform having an inner perimeter accommodating at least one indexing element configured to prevent rotation of a component attached to the coronal portion of the universal soft tissue level abutment part, wherein the abutment screw has an apical externally threaded portion configured to engage the bone level dental implant and a coronal internally threaded portion;
• coupling a temporary screw retained component to the universal soft tissue level abutment part with a further screw, wherein the further screw has an apical externally threaded portion configured to engage with the coronal internally threaded portion of the abutment screw such that the apical externally threaded portion of the further screw sits at least partially within the soft tissue level abutment part;
• with the temporary screw retained component coupled to the universal soft tissue level abutment part, leaving the universal soft tissue level abutment part attached to the bone level dental implant during a first period;
• wherein the abutment system is adapted to selectively support both a cement-retained final restoration and a screw-retained final restoration;
• and
• after the first period, removing the temporary screw-retained component and attaching the selected final restoration to the universal soft tissue level abutment part without removing the universal soft tissue level abutment part from the bone level dental implant,
• wherein the final restoration comprises a coronal abutment part having a corresponding at least one indexing element at an apical end of the coronal abutment part, the corresponding at least one indexing element configured to attach to the at least one indexing element accommodated by the inner perimeter of the coronal flat circumferential platform at a coronal end of the universal soft tissue level abutment part thereby preventing rotation of the final restoration, and
• wherein the corresponding at least one indexing element of the coronal abutment part does not engage with an anti-rotational feature of a crown supported on the coronal abutment part.