Osseous Healing Around Immediate Implants Placed Using Contour Augmentation: A Prospective Case Series

The purpose of this study was to prospectively evaluate the dimensional bone changes around implants placed immediately with buccal contour augmentation. Patients with hopeless maxillary anterior teeth were treated with extraction, immediate implant placement, and simultaneous buccal contour augmentation. Hard tissue measurements were recorded at the time of implant placement and after 3 months of healing. All implants (N = 18) successfully osseointegrated with a mean buccal bone thickness of 2.94 ± 0.21 mm (mean ± SE) at the implant platform. This was significantly greater compared to previous data on immediate implants placed without contour augmentation (2.32 ± 0.17 mm). Buccal contour augmentation in conjunction with immediate implant placement significantly increased peri-implant buccal bone thickness after 3 months of healing.