Three-Dimensional Bone and Soft Tissue Requirements for Optimizing Esthetic Results in Compromised Cases with Multiple Implants

Achieving an esthetic outcome in tooth replacement and implant treatment requires a proper tooth shape and stable surrounding soft tissue profiles. Bone augmentation is considered vital to support the esthetic soft tissue profile around definitive restorations. To prevent recession of the peri-implant soft tissue in cases with multiple implants, buccal bone augmentation of more than 2 mm from the implant platform is necessary to overcome the normal pattern of bone remodeling. Drawing an imaginary horizontal line spanning the space between the remaining healthy interproximal bone peaks is the most reliable vertical augmentation target to create esthetic papillae around an implant prosthesis. Provided that the adjacent bone peaks are at an ideal height and the bone is augmented vertically up to this line, the accepted general guideline of 2 to 3 mm of interproximal vertical bone augmentation from ideally placed implant platforms will invariably also be achieved. In addition, placing pontics in strategic positions to avoid consecutively placed implants has been suggested to facilitate vertical bone height preservation after bone augmentation. Even with esthetically successful results, there have been very few long-term studies on compromised cases with multiple implants. This will become more and more critical over time and must be remedied.