Both are bone-level implants from Straumann, but they belong to different prosthetic families: BLX uses the TorcFit connection and Bone Level uses CrossFit, so components do not cross between them. Bone Level is a parallel-walled implant for healed, reasonably dense bone; BLX is fully tapered and positioned for high primary stability and immediate protocols.
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
Straumann Bone Level
Current status
Current. Straumann publishes a BLX Basic Information document revised November 2024.Manufacturer-reported[1]
Current. The Bone Level implant is one of three bone-level lines (BL, BLT, BLX) shown in Straumann’s Bone Level Tapered documentation revised January 2025.Manufacturer-reported[3][4]
Implant level
Bone level. Straumann states that "the Straumann BLX Implant System offers Bone Level implants (BLX)".Manufacturer-reported[1]
Bone level. The rough surface extends to the top of the implant and the connection is shifted inwards.Manufacturer-reported[3]
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]
Cylindrical outer contour — a parallel-walled endosteal design.Manufacturer-reported[3]
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.
CrossFit — a 15° conical-cylindrical connection with four internal grooves. Narrow CrossFit (NC) on ∅ 3.3 mm implants; Regular CrossFit (RC) on ∅ 4.1 and ∅ 4.8 mm implants, which share the same secondary components.Manufacturer-reported[3]
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.)
Straumann describes the connection as shifted inwards relative to the implant shoulder, with the rough surface extending to the top of the implant.Manufacturer-reported[3]
Available diameters
Maximum outer diameter ∅ 3.5, 3.75, 4.0, 4.5, 5.0, 5.5 and 6.5 mm.Manufacturer-reported[1]
Endosteal diameter ∅ 3.3, 4.1 and 4.8 mm.Manufacturer-reported[3]
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]
8–14 mm across all three diameters.Manufacturer-reported[3]
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]
Straumann Bone Level
Current. The Bone Level implant is one of three bone-level lines (BL, BLT, BLX) shown in Straumann’s Bone Level Tapered documentation revised January 2025.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]
Straumann Bone Level
Bone level. The rough surface extends to the top of the implant and the connection is shifted inwards.Manufacturer-reported[3]
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]
Straumann Bone Level
Cylindrical outer contour — a parallel-walled endosteal design.Manufacturer-reported[3]
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.
Straumann Bone Level
CrossFit — a 15° conical-cylindrical connection with four internal grooves. Narrow CrossFit (NC) on ∅ 3.3 mm implants; Regular CrossFit (RC) on ∅ 4.1 and ∅ 4.8 mm implants, which share the same secondary components.Manufacturer-reported[3]
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.)
Straumann Bone Level
Straumann describes the connection as shifted inwards relative to the implant shoulder, with the rough surface extending to the top of the implant.Manufacturer-reported[3]
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]
Straumann Bone Level
Endosteal diameter ∅ 3.3, 4.1 and 4.8 mm.Manufacturer-reported[3]
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]
Straumann Bone Level
8–14 mm across all three diameters.Manufacturer-reported[3]
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]
Straumann Bone Level
Not publicly verified
Geographic availability
Straumann BLX
Straumann states that not all products are available in all markets.Manufacturer-reported[1]
Straumann Bone Level
Not publicly verified
The biggest differences
Bone Level is a straight cylinder with an 0.8 mm thread that tapers off near the crest. BLX is tapered along its whole length with a thread pitch that increases with diameter and length, from 1.7 mm to 3.1 mm, plus a micro-thread region beneath the neck. The two are not successive generations of one implant, despite the shared 'bone level' description — they are separate lines that Straumann sells in parallel.
Design
BLX is the wider-ranging of the two: 3.5 to 6.5 mm in diameter and 6 to 18 mm in length, against Bone Level's 3.3, 4.1 and 4.8 mm at 8 to 14 mm. If a very short implant or a very wide posterior implant is needed within the Straumann bone-level range, BLX is where those sizes are. Bone Level's narrower catalogue is consistent with its role as the conventional option for straightforward healed sites.
Material and surface
Bone Level is offered in Roxolid with SLActive or SLA, or in commercially pure titanium with SLA. BLX is listed in Roxolid, with either surface. Roxolid is a titanium-zirconium alloy, which is a different thing from zirconia ceramic — a confusion that arises often enough to be worth stating plainly whenever the word zirconium appears on a treatment plan.
Prosthetic ecosystem
CrossFit is a 15 degree conical-cylindrical connection with four internal grooves; TorcFit is a 7 degree cone with a six-position torx feature. Bone Level shares CrossFit with Bone Level Tapered, and BLX shares TorcFit with TLX. This is the single most useful fact to record after treatment, because it is what a future dentist needs in order to order an abutment, and the brand name alone does not supply it.
What may influence clinical selection
Where the bone is healed and reasonably dense and the restoration is conventional, a parallel-walled implant is entirely adequate, and a tapered implant is not an upgrade. Where the implant is going into a fresh socket or where the plan is to load it early, the taper and thread design of BLX exist for that reason. Neither situation makes one implant better than the other in general terms.
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
Straumann Bone Level
via Straumann
30
FDA 510(k) clearances
2004 – 2026
Filed by Institut Straumann AG
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.
