PubMed ID (PMID): 29806668Pages 215-224, Language: EnglishZucchelli, Giovanni / Felice, Pietro / Mazzotti, Claudio / Marzadori, Matteo / Mounssif, Ilham / Monaco, Carlo / Stefanini, MartinaPurpose: To report the 5-year clinical and aesthetic outcomes of a novel surgical-prosthetic approach for the treatment of buccal soft tissue dehiscence around single dental implants.
Materials and methods: Twenty patients with buccal soft tissues dehiscence around single implants in the aesthetic area were treated by removing the implant-supported crown, reducing the implant abutment, coronally advanced flap in combination with connective tissue graft and final restoration. After the first year, patients were recalled three times a year until the final clinical re-evaluation performed 5 years after the final prosthetic crown. Complications, bleeding on probing (BoP), peri-implant probing depth (PPD), clinical attachment level (CAL), keratinized tissue height (KTH), soft tissue coverage and thickness (STT), patient satisfaction (VAS) and aesthetic assessment (PES/WES) were evaluated 5 years after the final restoration.
Results: Of the 20 patients enrolled in the study, 19 completed the study at 5 years. A total of 99.2% mean soft tissue dehiscence coverage, with 79% of complete dehiscence coverage, was achieved at 5 years. A statistically significant increase in buccal soft tissue thickness (0.3 mm 0.1-0.4 P 0.001) and keratinized tissue height (0.5 mm 0.0-1.0; P 0.001) at 5 years with respect to 1 year was demonstrated. The patient aesthetic evaluation showed high VAS scores with no statistical difference between 1 year and 5 years (8.75 ± 1.02 and 8.95 ± 0.91 respectively). A statistical significant PES/WES score improvement was observed between baseline and 5 years (9.48 ± 2.68; P 0.001), but not between 1 and 5 years.
Conclusions: Successful aesthetic and soft tissue dehiscence coverage outcomes were well maintained at 5 years. The strict regimen of post-surgical control visits and the emphasis placed on the control of the toothbrushing technique could be critical for the successful long-term maintenance of soft tissue dehiscence coverage results.
Keywords: aesthetics, connective tissue, dental implant, mucogingival surgery, soft tissue dehiscence
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.