Both are tapered implants built for the same clinical problem — getting an implant stable enough in a fresh socket or soft bone to restore it early — and they solve it differently. BLX pursues stability through a fully tapered body in a titanium-zirconium alloy; NobelActive pursues it through an expanding body with a double-lead thread and apical cutting blades that let the surgeon redirect the implant during placement. The practical decision is usually made by which system the surgeon works in, not by the specifications.
Side by side
Rows appear only where at least one side has data. Where a value is not verified we say
so rather than leaving it blank.
Attribute
Straumann BLX
NobelActive
Current status
Current. Straumann publishes a BLX Basic Information document revised November 2024.Manufacturer-reported[1]
Current. NobelActive is listed in the Nobel Biocare implant catalogue with 56 options.Manufacturer-reported[3][4]
Implant level
Bone level. Straumann states that "the Straumann BLX Implant System offers Bone Level implants (BLX)".Manufacturer-reported[1]
Insufficient evidence(Checked the NobelActive TiUnite/TiUltra instructions for use (IFU1001 000 05) and the two conical connection product overviews (86168B and 81657F) in addition to the Nobel Biocare product page. None of them uses the words "bone level" or "tissue level" about NobelActive; the IFU describes it only as an endosseous threaded implant. Nobel Biocare states elsewhere that it offers both bone- and tissue-level implants but does not assign NobelActive to either category in the documents reviewed.)
Body geometry
Fully tapered body with a machined neck whose height varies with implant length: 1.0 mm on 6 mm and 8 mm implants, 1.7 mm on 10–14 mm implants and 2.0 mm on 16–18 mm implants.Manufacturer-reported[1]
Expanding tapered body which Nobel Biocare states condenses bone gradually during insertion, with reverse cutting blades that allow the implant position to be adjusted during placement.Manufacturer-reported[4]
Commercially pure titanium grade 4. The instructions for use give the composition as titanium balanced with max. 0.50 wt.% iron, max. 0.40 wt.% oxygen, max. 0.08 wt.% carbon, max. 0.05 wt.% nitrogen and max. 0.015 wt.% hydrogen, and state that the TiUltra variant is additionally layered with a water-soluble salt mixture of sodium dihydrogen phosphate and magnesium chloride. The co-packed cover screw is Ti-6Al-4V ELI alloy.Manufacturer-reported[5]
Surface
Offered with either the SLActive or the SLA surface.Manufacturer-reported[1]
TiUltra, introduced in 2019; also offered historically with the TiUnite surface.Manufacturer-reported[4]
Connection
TorcFit — a 7° conical prosthetic connection with a six-position torx-style anti-rotation feature. All BLX implants share the same internal geometry regardless of diameter, so one set of RB/WB prosthetic components fits the whole range.Manufacturer-reported[1]TorcFit is specific to BLX and TLX; it is not the CrossFit connection used by the Straumann Bone Level and Bone Level Tapered lines.
Internal conical connection. Nobel Biocare groups NobelActive under the "Internal Conical Connection" filter in its implant catalogue.Manufacturer-reported[3][6]
Platform switching
Manufacturer documentation not located(The Basic Information gives a platform diameter of ∅ 2.9 mm against neck diameters of ∅ 3.4, 3.5 or 4.5 mm, but describes the prosthetic range as Regular Base and Wide Base rather than making a platform-switching claim.)
Nobel Biocare describes "enhanced platform shifting" for the NobelActive S variant but publishes no dimension for it on the pages reviewed.Manufacturer-reported[4]
Available diameters
Maximum outer diameter ∅ 3.5, 3.75, 4.0, 4.5, 5.0, 5.5 and 6.5 mm.Manufacturer-reported[1]
NobelActive TiUltra is catalogued in ∅ 3.0, 3.5, 4.3, 5.0 and 5.5 mm.Manufacturer-reported[6]
Available lengths
6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18 mm. 6 mm is not offered in ∅ 3.5 mm, and 18 mm is not offered in ∅ 5.5 mm or ∅ 6.5 mm.Manufacturer-reported[1]
∅ 3.0 mm: 10–13 mm. ∅ 3.5, 4.3 and 5.0 mm: 8.5–18 mm. ∅ 5.5 mm: 7–15 mm. Nobel Biocare notes that the actual implant length is 0.5 mm shorter than the length in the product name.Manufacturer-reported[6]
Narrow implant option
Straumann advises particular care when placing ∅ 3.5 mm Roxolid implants in the molar region or other high-load situations, because of the risk of implant overload.Manufacturer-reported[1]
Not publicly verified
Geographic availability
Straumann states that not all products are available in all markets.Manufacturer-reported[1]
Not publicly verified
Current status
Straumann BLX
Current. Straumann publishes a BLX Basic Information document revised November 2024.Manufacturer-reported[1]
NobelActive
Current. NobelActive is listed in the Nobel Biocare implant catalogue with 56 options.Manufacturer-reported[3][4]
Implant level
Straumann BLX
Bone level. Straumann states that "the Straumann BLX Implant System offers Bone Level implants (BLX)".Manufacturer-reported[1]
NobelActive
Insufficient evidence(Checked the NobelActive TiUnite/TiUltra instructions for use (IFU1001 000 05) and the two conical connection product overviews (86168B and 81657F) in addition to the Nobel Biocare product page. None of them uses the words "bone level" or "tissue level" about NobelActive; the IFU describes it only as an endosseous threaded implant. Nobel Biocare states elsewhere that it offers both bone- and tissue-level implants but does not assign NobelActive to either category in the documents reviewed.)
Body geometry
Straumann BLX
Fully tapered body with a machined neck whose height varies with implant length: 1.0 mm on 6 mm and 8 mm implants, 1.7 mm on 10–14 mm implants and 2.0 mm on 16–18 mm implants.Manufacturer-reported[1]
NobelActive
Expanding tapered body which Nobel Biocare states condenses bone gradually during insertion, with reverse cutting blades that allow the implant position to be adjusted during placement.Manufacturer-reported[4]
Commercially pure titanium grade 4. The instructions for use give the composition as titanium balanced with max. 0.50 wt.% iron, max. 0.40 wt.% oxygen, max. 0.08 wt.% carbon, max. 0.05 wt.% nitrogen and max. 0.015 wt.% hydrogen, and state that the TiUltra variant is additionally layered with a water-soluble salt mixture of sodium dihydrogen phosphate and magnesium chloride. The co-packed cover screw is Ti-6Al-4V ELI alloy.Manufacturer-reported[5]
Surface
Straumann BLX
Offered with either the SLActive or the SLA surface.Manufacturer-reported[1]
NobelActive
TiUltra, introduced in 2019; also offered historically with the TiUnite surface.Manufacturer-reported[4]
Connection
Straumann BLX
TorcFit — a 7° conical prosthetic connection with a six-position torx-style anti-rotation feature. All BLX implants share the same internal geometry regardless of diameter, so one set of RB/WB prosthetic components fits the whole range.Manufacturer-reported[1]TorcFit is specific to BLX and TLX; it is not the CrossFit connection used by the Straumann Bone Level and Bone Level Tapered lines.
NobelActive
Internal conical connection. Nobel Biocare groups NobelActive under the "Internal Conical Connection" filter in its implant catalogue.Manufacturer-reported[3][6]
Platform switching
Straumann BLX
Manufacturer documentation not located(The Basic Information gives a platform diameter of ∅ 2.9 mm against neck diameters of ∅ 3.4, 3.5 or 4.5 mm, but describes the prosthetic range as Regular Base and Wide Base rather than making a platform-switching claim.)
NobelActive
Nobel Biocare describes "enhanced platform shifting" for the NobelActive S variant but publishes no dimension for it on the pages reviewed.Manufacturer-reported[4]
Available diameters
Straumann BLX
Maximum outer diameter ∅ 3.5, 3.75, 4.0, 4.5, 5.0, 5.5 and 6.5 mm.Manufacturer-reported[1]
NobelActive
NobelActive TiUltra is catalogued in ∅ 3.0, 3.5, 4.3, 5.0 and 5.5 mm.Manufacturer-reported[6]
Available lengths
Straumann BLX
6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18 mm. 6 mm is not offered in ∅ 3.5 mm, and 18 mm is not offered in ∅ 5.5 mm or ∅ 6.5 mm.Manufacturer-reported[1]
NobelActive
∅ 3.0 mm: 10–13 mm. ∅ 3.5, 4.3 and 5.0 mm: 8.5–18 mm. ∅ 5.5 mm: 7–15 mm. Nobel Biocare notes that the actual implant length is 0.5 mm shorter than the length in the product name.Manufacturer-reported[6]
Narrow implant option
Straumann BLX
Straumann advises particular care when placing ∅ 3.5 mm Roxolid implants in the molar region or other high-load situations, because of the risk of implant overload.Manufacturer-reported[1]
NobelActive
Not publicly verified
Geographic availability
Straumann BLX
Straumann states that not all products are available in all markets.Manufacturer-reported[1]
NobelActive
Not publicly verified
The biggest differences
The clearest difference is what happens at the tip. NobelActive has sharp cutting blades at the apex and reverse cutting blades along the body, which Nobel Biocare describes as allowing deliberate under-preparation of the site and adjustment of the implant path during insertion. BLX has a tapered apex with two or four apical cutting edges depending on diameter, and gains its stability from the taper and a thread pitch that varies with implant size rather than from a bone-condensing body. The second real difference is the connection: BLX uses TorcFit, a 7 degree cone with a six-position torx feature, while NobelActive uses Nobel Biocare's internal conical connection. Neither will accept the other's components.
Design
BLX carries a machined neck whose height changes with the length of the implant, from 1.0 mm on the 6 mm and 8 mm implants to 2.0 mm on the 16 mm and 18 mm ones, so the amount of polished surface at the crest is not constant across the range. NobelActive is catalogued on a narrower diameter range, from 3.0 to 5.5 mm, against BLX's 3.5 to 6.5 mm. One quirk of the Nobel range worth knowing before reading its size tables is that the actual implant is 0.5 mm shorter than the length printed in the product name.
Material and surface
Straumann states that BLX is made in Roxolid, its titanium-zirconium alloy, and offers it with either the SLActive or the SLA surface. For NobelActive we have recorded the surface — TiUltra, introduced in 2019, with TiUnite used historically — but not the substrate, because we could not find a primary Nobel Biocare document naming the alloy. That is a gap in our data rather than an indication that anything is unusual about the material, and it is the kind of asymmetry worth noticing when a specification table looks lopsided.
Prosthetic ecosystem
Every BLX implant shares the same internal geometry regardless of diameter, so one set of RB and WB components covers the whole range — a genuine advantage when a component has to be replaced years after placement. NobelActive shares its internal conical connection with NobelParallel and NobelReplace Conical Connection, so its components cross several implant lines within the brand instead. Both approaches reduce the risk of an obsolete part; they simply reduce it in different directions.
Clinical evidence
NobelActive has been on the market considerably longer than BLX, so more has been published about it. That is a function of age rather than of quality — a system introduced later will always have a shorter literature, and a longer bibliography is not by itself a clinical argument. We hold no study records that compare these two systems directly, and we are not aware of one, so any ranking of the two on outcomes is going beyond what has been shown.
What may influence clinical selection
In practice the question that decides this is rarely about the implant. It is whether the surgeon placing it is trained and stocked in that system, and whether the components will still be obtainable in the country where the patient will be living in fifteen years. Both are large, current systems from established manufacturers, so both clear that bar in most of Europe — but a patient treated abroad should establish which of the two was used, in what diameter and length, and keep the implant passport.
Important limitations
Our NobelActive record is held as database-only because several fields, including the substrate material and the implant level, are not confirmed against a primary Nobel Biocare document. The comparison table below therefore has fewer populated rows on the Nobel side than on the Straumann side, and that reflects our research coverage, not the two products.
So which is better?
Neither is universally better, and any page telling you otherwise is selling something.
These are different designs with different trade-offs, and the right choice depends on the
bone available, the position in the mouth, the planned restoration, and what the treating
clinician is equipped and experienced to place and to service years from now.
That last point is easy to overlook and matters more than most specification
differences: components need to remain obtainable for as long as the implant is in place.
Regulatory record
US FDA 510(k) clearances held by each side, retrieved from the FDA's own database.
Clearances are held at brand level, so every system from the same brand shares this record.
Straumann BLX
via Straumann
30
FDA 510(k) clearances
2004 – 2026
Filed by Institut Straumann AG
NobelActive
via Nobel Biocare
6
FDA 510(k) clearances
1991 – 2026
Filed by Nobel Biocare AB
A clearance count is not a quality ranking, and the
larger number is not the better implant. A brand with more clearances usually
has a longer history or a broader component range. FDA "clearance" also is not FDA
"approval" — it means the device was accepted as substantially equivalent to one already
on the market, generally without a clinical trial. A blank here means we could not match
a filing with confidence, not that the brand lacks authorisation.
What these actually mean →
Sources
Numbers match the citations beside each claim above.
