Forty-eight single dental implants were inserted 4 months after tooth extraction following ridge preservation (RP; n = 24) or spontaneous healing (EXT; n = 24). During surgery, 1 (7%) of 24 implants in the RP group and 14 (58%) of 24 in the EXT group required additional bone grafting, and the implant stability quotient value was similar in the two groups. The survival rate of the implants in both groups was 100% at the 1-year follow-up. The success rate was 95.83% in the RP group and 91.66% in the EXT group. No statistically significant differences in the marginal bone level were detected between the two groups. Similar outcomes of implants inserted in preserved or spontaneously healed ridges can be anticipated, but the use of an RP procedure reduces the need for further bone augmentation.