Complication Management of a Socket Shield Case After 6 Years of Function

Maintaining soft and hard tissues around dental implants after tooth extraction is one of the major challenges in implant dentistry. After tooth extraction, the subsequent loss of bone and soft tissue is inevitable due to the partial resorption of the buccal bone plate. The recently described socket shield technique addresses the problem by maintaining the buccal piece of the tooth in the extraction socket in order to preserve the buccal bone. As with every new technique, specific complications, like infection of the buccal piece of the tooth, can occur. Herein, the authors present a clinical case that developed a complication with the socket shield technique and the consequential surgical management.