PEEK or titanium provisional abutments in the aesthetic zone — what the new trial means for your chair
A 30-implant controlled trial found PEEK provisionals behave like titanium for tissue conditioning; but digital photos alone are unreliable to judge keratinized mucosa or thickness — measure clinically.
When you shape an emergence profile for a single crown in the aesthetic zone you want predictable soft-tissue shaping, low inflammation and an acceptable pink aesthetic score at delivery. A recently published controlled clinical trial compared prefabricated titanium healing/provisional abutments with temporary PEEK abutments in 30 single implants (15 per group) and measured plaque, bleeding, probing depth, keratinized mucosa width, mucosal thickness, papilla dimensions and the Pink Esthetic Score during the crown-conditioning phase. Both groups improved their PES after conditioning and showed no clinically important differences in peri-implant stability or soft-tissue metrics during the study period — the authors concluded PEEK and titanium provisionals were essentially equivalent for tissue conditioning. ([eurekamag.com](
Clinical takeaways
- Temporary PEEK provisionals perform similarly to prefabricated titanium abutments for peri-implant tissue conditioning and esthetic outcome during the provisional phase; choose by workflow and access rather than perceived biological superiority.
- Don’t rely on standardized intraoral photographs alone to decide whether keratinized mucosa or mucosal thickness are adequate — a recent diagnostic study showed poor sensitivity/specificity and low AUC for image-based visual assessment.
- Measure key soft-tissue parameters in the clinic (probe, caliper or ultrasound where available) and shape the provisional emergence profile in small, staged steps; if KMW is <2 mm or phenotype is thin, plan soft-tissue augmentation before final restoration.
Sources
- Influence of Titanium versus Temporary Peek Abutments on Peri- Implant Tissue Contouring in Single Crowns in the Esthetic Area: a Controlled Clinical Trial. The International journal of oral & maxillofacial implants (2026). DOI: 10.11607/jomi.11904
- Diagnostic Accuracy and Reliability of Visual Assessment of Peri-Implant Keratinized Mucosa Width and Mucosal Thickness Using Digital Images. The International journal of periodontics & restorative dentistry (2026). DOI: 10.11607/prd.8303