Dental retention systems which facilitatethe adjustment or removal of an oral appliance, e.g., acrown or bridge, from a reconfigurable abutment assemblyare described. The adjustable abutment assembly may besecured to an anchoring implant bored into the boneswithin the mouth. The abutment assembly has a projectingabutment portion with one or more shape memory alloycompression plates or elements extending along the projectingabutment portion. Each of the plates has a lengthwith one or more straightened portions and with at leastone curved or arcuate portion. Energy may be applied tothe elements such that the arcuate portion self-flattens toallow for the oral appliance to be placed thereupon whileremoval of the energy allows the elements to reconfigureinto its curved configuration thereby locking the oralappliance to the abutment. Removal of the oral appliancemay be effected by reapplication of energy to the elements.
