The present study evaluated the 2-year changes in soft tissue width after implant placement in healed sites, using two different methodologies to obtain tissue healing: preformed and anatomical abutment caps for customized healing (test) vs conventional healing abutments (control). The null hypothesis was that there would be no difference between the test group and the control group. Patients who suffered from a single-tooth edentulous area in the premolar/molar region were included. Both the standard abutments and the preformed and anatomical abutment caps were immediately screwed on the implants. The final crown restoration was fabricated 3 months later. Primary outcomes (changes in the alveolar soft tissue ridge) and secondary outcomes (testing adverse events and measuring implant/prosthesis survival) were evaluated. Thirty-nine patients (24 women) with a mean age of 57.7 ± 7.1 years (range: 42.6 to 72.8 years) were included. Alveolar widths in both groups showed significant increases from baseline to the 3-month follow-up, with augmentations of 3.6 ± 0.7 mm for the test group and 1.1 ± 0.9 mm for the control group. The gain in soft tissue appeared to be statistically different between the two groups (P < .0001). Contrarily, any subsequent change in width from 3 months to 2 years was negligible and insignificant (< 0.33 mm for both groups). The technique described in the present study encourages the potential for alternative healing based on the guided soft tissue concept, as it either eliminated the need for second-stage surgery or it reduced step-by-step peri-implant soft tissue conditioning, obtaining a tissue contour immediately very similar to that of a final prosthesis.
