Patent ID: 8033826

Claim:
An abutment for use with a dental implant, said dental implant having an internally threaded bore and a non-round fitting located at a gingival end portion thereof, said abutment comprising: a prosthetic portion adapted to support a prosthesis thereon, said prosthetic portion having a supragingival region for protruding beyond gingiva adjacent to said dental implant and a subgingival end, said prosthetic portion having a passageway extending therethrough, said passageway including an enlarged retention groove, a first non-round section, and a narrow shoulder; an insert extending into said passageway and engaging said subgingival end of said prosthetic portion, said insert including a second non-round section for non-rotationally mating with said first non-round section of said prosthetic portion, said insert having a central opening and an anti-rotational feature for engaging said non-round fitting of said dental implant, said insert including flexible retention fingers adjacent to said second non-round section that, upon insertion into said passageway, initially contract before reaching said enlarged retention groove and then expand outwardly into said enlarged retention groove to hold said insert onto said prosthetic portion; and a screw adapted to engage threads of said internally threaded bore in said implant and insertable through said passageway in said prosthetic portion and said central opening in said insert, said screw comprising a head and a threaded section, said head of said screw seating on said shoulder in said passageway.