Straumann Bone Level vs Bone Level Tapered

Quick answer

These are the parallel-walled and apically tapered versions of the same implant: they share the CrossFit connection, the same surfaces, the same materials and the same prosthetic components. The taper is a placement characteristic for softer bone and fresh sockets, not an upgrade, and in dense healed bone the parallel-walled version behaves perfectly well.

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 Bone Level	Straumann Bone Level Tapered
Current status	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[1][2]	Current. Straumann publishes a Bone Level Tapered Basic Information document revised January 2025.Manufacturer-reported[2]
Implant level	Bone level. The rough surface extends to the top of the implant and the connection is shifted inwards.Manufacturer-reported[1]	Bone level. Straumann states the rough surface extends to the top of the implant and the connection is shifted inwards.Manufacturer-reported[2]
Body geometry	Cylindrical outer contour — a parallel-walled endosteal design.Manufacturer-reported[1]	Cylindrical coronal portion with an apically tapered, self-cutting body. The tapered section measures 3.9 mm at 11° on the ∅ 2.9 mm implant, 5.3 mm at 9° on ∅ 3.3 and ∅ 4.1 mm, and 5.8 mm at 9° on ∅ 4.8 mm.Manufacturer-reported[2]
Material	Roxolid with the SLActive or SLA surface, or titanium with an SLA surface.Manufacturer-reported[1]	Roxolid with the SLActive or SLA surface, or titanium with an SLA surface. The ∅ 2.9 mm implant is not offered in titanium.Manufacturer-reported[2]
Surface	SLActive or SLA.Manufacturer-reported[1]	SLActive or SLA.Manufacturer-reported[2]
Connection	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[1]	CrossFit — a 15° conical-cylindrical connection with four internal grooves. Small CrossFit (SC, ∅ 2.3 mm) on ∅ 2.9 mm implants, Narrow CrossFit (NC, ∅ 2.8 mm) on ∅ 3.3 mm, and Regular CrossFit (RC, ∅ 3.3 mm) on ∅ 4.1 and ∅ 4.8 mm.Manufacturer-reported[2][1]
Platform switching	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[1]	The prosthetic platform is narrower than the endosteal diameter throughout the range — ∅ 2.8 mm platform on a ∅ 2.9 mm implant, ∅ 3.1 on ∅ 3.3, ∅ 3.7 on ∅ 4.1 and ∅ 4.4 on ∅ 4.8 — and the connection is shifted inwards.Manufacturer-reported[2]
Available diameters	Endosteal diameter ∅ 3.3, 4.1 and 4.8 mm.Manufacturer-reported[1]	Endosteal diameter ∅ 2.9, 3.3, 4.1 and 4.8 mm.Manufacturer-reported[2]
Available lengths	8–14 mm across all three diameters.Manufacturer-reported[1]	10–14 mm for the ∅ 2.9 mm implant; 8–18 mm for ∅ 3.3, 4.1 and 4.8 mm.Manufacturer-reported[2]
Narrow implant option	Not publicly verified	The ∅ 2.9 mm SC implant is described as a small-diameter implant for central and lateral incisors in the mandible and lateral incisors in the maxilla, with a minimal ridge width of 5.0 mm.Manufacturer-reported[2]

Current status

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[1][2]

Straumann Bone Level Tapered

Current. Straumann publishes a Bone Level Tapered Basic Information document revised January 2025.Manufacturer-reported[2]

Implant level

Straumann Bone Level

Bone level. The rough surface extends to the top of the implant and the connection is shifted inwards.Manufacturer-reported[1]

Straumann Bone Level Tapered

Bone level. Straumann states the rough surface extends to the top of the implant and the connection is shifted inwards.Manufacturer-reported[2]

Body geometry

Straumann Bone Level

Cylindrical outer contour — a parallel-walled endosteal design.Manufacturer-reported[1]

Straumann Bone Level Tapered

Cylindrical coronal portion with an apically tapered, self-cutting body. The tapered section measures 3.9 mm at 11° on the ∅ 2.9 mm implant, 5.3 mm at 9° on ∅ 3.3 and ∅ 4.1 mm, and 5.8 mm at 9° on ∅ 4.8 mm.Manufacturer-reported[2]

Material

Straumann Bone Level

Roxolid with the SLActive or SLA surface, or titanium with an SLA surface.Manufacturer-reported[1]

Straumann Bone Level Tapered

Roxolid with the SLActive or SLA surface, or titanium with an SLA surface. The ∅ 2.9 mm implant is not offered in titanium.Manufacturer-reported[2]

Surface

Straumann Bone Level

SLActive or SLA.Manufacturer-reported[1]

Straumann Bone Level Tapered

SLActive or SLA.Manufacturer-reported[2]

Connection

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[1]

Straumann Bone Level Tapered

CrossFit — a 15° conical-cylindrical connection with four internal grooves. Small CrossFit (SC, ∅ 2.3 mm) on ∅ 2.9 mm implants, Narrow CrossFit (NC, ∅ 2.8 mm) on ∅ 3.3 mm, and Regular CrossFit (RC, ∅ 3.3 mm) on ∅ 4.1 and ∅ 4.8 mm.Manufacturer-reported[2][1]

Platform switching

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[1]

Straumann Bone Level Tapered

The prosthetic platform is narrower than the endosteal diameter throughout the range — ∅ 2.8 mm platform on a ∅ 2.9 mm implant, ∅ 3.1 on ∅ 3.3, ∅ 3.7 on ∅ 4.1 and ∅ 4.4 on ∅ 4.8 — and the connection is shifted inwards.Manufacturer-reported[2]

Available diameters

Straumann Bone Level

Endosteal diameter ∅ 3.3, 4.1 and 4.8 mm.Manufacturer-reported[1]

Straumann Bone Level Tapered

Endosteal diameter ∅ 2.9, 3.3, 4.1 and 4.8 mm.Manufacturer-reported[2]

Available lengths

Straumann Bone Level

8–14 mm across all three diameters.Manufacturer-reported[1]

Straumann Bone Level Tapered

10–14 mm for the ∅ 2.9 mm implant; 8–18 mm for ∅ 3.3, 4.1 and 4.8 mm.Manufacturer-reported[2]

Narrow implant option

Straumann Bone Level

Not publicly verified

Straumann Bone Level Tapered

The ∅ 2.9 mm SC implant is described as a small-diameter implant for central and lateral incisors in the mandible and lateral incisors in the maxilla, with a minimal ridge width of 5.0 mm.Manufacturer-reported[2]

The biggest differences

The bodies differ and almost nothing else does. Bone Level is a straight cylinder with an 0.8 mm thread that tapers off coronally. Bone Level Tapered keeps the cylindrical coronal portion but adds an apically tapered, self-cutting section — 3.9 mm at 11 degrees on the 2.9 mm implant, 5.3 mm at 9 degrees on the 3.3 and 4.1 mm implants and 5.8 mm at 9 degrees on the 4.8 mm implant. Thread pitch, flank lead and thread depth are the same 0.8 mm, 20 degrees and 0.3 mm on BLT across the range.

Where they are alike

Both use CrossFit, a 15 degree conical-cylindrical connection with four internal grooves, sized Narrow on 3.3 mm implants and Regular on 4.1 and 4.8 mm implants. Both are offered in Roxolid with SLActive or SLA, or in titanium with SLA. Both are described by Straumann as shifting the connection inwards relative to the shoulder with the rough surface running to the top of the implant. For a patient, that means the restorative pathway is identical whichever of the two was placed.

Design

The practical difference in the catalogue is reach. BLT is offered at 2.9 mm — a Small CrossFit implant that Bone Level does not have — and runs from 8 to 18 mm in length at the standard diameters. Bone Level starts at 3.3 mm and stops at 14 mm. Where a surgeon wants extra length or extra primary stability, the move is to BLT or BLX rather than to a longer Bone Level implant.

What may influence clinical selection

Straumann positions the tapered body for soft or very soft bone and fresh extraction sockets, where the priority is holding the implant still while it integrates. Where bone is dense and healed, a tapered self-cutting implant offers nothing extra and can generate more compression than is wanted. This is the clearest example in the Straumann range of a design choice that is genuinely about the site rather than about the product.

Important limitations

We have not recorded an apex description for Bone Level, because Straumann's documentation we worked from describes the apical geometry for BLT specifically. That is why the table below shows detail on one side and a blank on the other for that dimension.

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 Bone Level

via Straumann

FDA 510(k) clearances

2004 – 2026

Filed by Institut Straumann AG

Straumann Bone Level Tapered

via Straumann

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.

Primary sources

[1]Straumann Dental Implant System — Basic Information (702084/en) — Institut Straumann AG, 2025. Accessed 2026-07-21.
[2]Straumann Bone Level Tapered Implant — Technical Information (702167/en) — Institut Straumann AG. Accessed 2026-07-21.