Socket seal surgery: Clinical uses in implant dentistry and guided bone regeneration procedures for single tooth replacement in the esthetic zone

Restoring failing anterior teeth with a dental implant is considered a complex treatment even with thorough biologic knowledge of the situation. The goal is to produce a result in which the labial soft tissues and the papillae remain stable over time. Treatment of the fresh extraction socket in the alveolar ridge presents a challenge in everyday clinical practice. Regardless of the subsequent treatment, maintenance of the ridge contour will frequently facilitate all further therapeutic steps. Socket seal surgery and socket preservation in combination with immediate, early, or delayed implant placement can be valuable procedures for single tooth replacement. However, their potential as ridge preservation techniques in these different situations still needs to be demonstrated. The use of these procedures is illustrated in three consecutive cases. Keywords: delayed implant placement, early implant placement, immediate implant placement, socket preservation, socket seal surgery