Welcome to the next level of implant abutments
by Leading Edge Laboratories!
ChromaTIC EDGE Abutments
Now, you can choose from multiple shades of supragingival and
subgingival colors to meet case-specific needs.
Control the "stump shade" like never before with different shades of gold hue. Customize with yellows, golds, browns and more.
Take it a step further by adding gingival colors! With a variety of tissue colors ranging from light to dark pink, even shades of purple or blue...
Chromatic Edge Abutments can meet your needs.
Simply specify on your prescription under the Chromatic Edge Addition section.
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Colors presented in this chart are approximate and may vary slightly.
A difficult implant placement is now easier to restore.
No more "grey shadows" under the tissue!
Slight abutment exposure is no longer a concern.
Are you manufacturing your own, in-house implant crowns?
Take them to the next level!
We can turn any titanium abutment, stock or custom,
into a Chromatic Edge Abutment.
Simply send us your titanium stock or custom abutment, request your specific
gold hue or subgingival and supragingival colors on your prescription
and we will take care of the rest!
What is a Chromatic Edge Abutment ?
Anodic oxidation of titanium is a process that adjusts the oxide level of metal surfaces. This adjustment changes the spectrum of light, resulting in perceived color. By precisely controlling the surface oxide level, an entire range of colors can be produced.
Anodic oxidation is not a coating, nor does it use dyes. Voltage applied to the part through fixturing, in an electrolytic bath, controls the color. Therefore, the integrity and properties of the base metal along with its suitability in biomedical applications are not compromised.
How do we change the color of titanium?
Changing the color of titanium involves manipulating the oxide layer on the surface of titanium to produce an “illusion of color.” The titanium oxide layer gives the perception of color due to an interference phenomenon, similar to a prism. Light reflects from both the oxide layer and the underlying titanium at different angles and those reflections interfere with each other. Certain wavelengths of light cancel each other out or combine, so that the remaining light is perceived as color. Unlike aluminum anodizing, no dyes are required to produce the color perception, thus adding to the biomedical safety of the finished part.
An oxide layer forms naturally on the surface of titanium upon exposure to the atmospheric conditions, as oxygen reacts with the surface of titanium. This process of oxidation naturally occurs with many elements and the thin protective oxide layer helps protect it from further reactions to air or water.
When it first forms, the oxide layer is about 1-2 nanometers thick (10-20 angstroms), but it will continue to grow in open air. Without anodizing, the oxide layer typically grows to 20-25 nanometers (200-250 angstroms).
In color titanium anodization, however, the thickness of the oxide layer is augmented and manipulated. For example, the color bronze – the thinnest color layer on the titanium color spectrum – can be achieved by building the oxide layer thickness to about 300 to 350 angstroms. At the other end of the titanium color spectrum, the color green – the thickest color layer – can be achieved with an oxide layer thickness of 500 to 550 angstroms.
Since the entire range of color for the titanium oxide layer is within 25 billionths of a meter (a nanometer is 1-billionth of a meter), it is little wonder that the process requires careful precision and high-quality anodizing equipment to reach the best results.