Patent ID: 8888486

Claim:
An abutment system for use with a dental implant, the dental implant having an internally threaded bore and a non-round fitting located at a gingival end portion thereof, the abutment system comprising: a prosthetic portion configured to support a prosthesis thereon, the prosthetic portion having a supragingival region for protruding beyond gingiva adjacent to the dental implant and a subgingival end, the prosthetic portion having a passageway extending therethrough; an insert extending into the passageway and engaging the subgingival end of the prosthetic portion, the insert having a central opening and an anti-rotational feature for engaging the non-round fitting of the dental implant; a screw configured to engage threads of the internally threaded bore in the dental implant and insertable through the passageway in the prosthetic portion and the central opening in the insert, the screw comprising a head and a shaft, the shaft including a threaded section, an outwardly tapered section terminating in a stop section, and a recessed section, the stop section being directly adjacent the recessed section, the outwardly tapered section having an increasing diameter such that the diameter along the outwardly tapered section of the shaft increases towards the head of the screw, a maximum diameter of the outwardly tapered section of the shaft being no greater than a minimum diameter of the passageway of the prosthetic portion such that the outwardly tapered section can pass through the passageway; and a washer fitted over the recessed section, the washer having an inner diameter that is less than a maximum diameter of the outwardly tapered section of the shaft.