<p>Screw loosening remains a problem in dental implant restorations. This article shows a new way to determine preload for dental implant systems using removal and tightening torque at installation. Applying this method utilizes an initial tightening torque measurement, a removal torque measurement, and screw thread pitch to determine a final tightening torque necessary to obtain a desired preload. In contrast, the most common method currently used in practice for achieving preload in dental implant screw systems is based solely on application of a predetermined manufacturer specified tightening torque alone. This paper presents an analysis showing preload is related to the difference in removal torque and tightening torque. Because this new approach uses this difference during assembly, it utilizes the additional information provided by removal torque and better accounts for differences in thread and bearing surfaces bearing face including the absence or presence of lubricant. Tests with sample in vitro dental implants are performed to evaluate this method against preload measurements. The data show the spread in preload computed from torque difference that is less than the spread in preload from only tightening torque. Applying this approach in vivo is expected to provide more reliable screw system with dental implants because of reduced uncertainty in preload at installation and the resulting decreased risk of abutment screw loosening.</p>