Assessment of Peri-implant Soft Tissue Adaptive Pressure and Time After Provisional Restorations

Using interim restorations to remodel the peri-implant gingiva contour has been a common procedure in esthetic implant treatment. During the interim restoration delivery, the pressure between the restoration and gingiva typically causes ischemia. Adequate restoration should allow the tissue to recover from ischemia over a certain time. To assess the time needed for peri-implant soft tissue recovery, interim restorations were delivered on 25 single implant sites 2 weeks after stage-two surgery, and the gingiva appearance changes after delivery were recorded for 15 minutes using a video camera. Gingiva color changes along the time were measured and analyzed. The color differences between peri-implant mucosa at 10 min and 0 min, as well as between adjacent tooth gingiva, were all within a clinically acceptable range of color difference. The adaptive pressure technique by two-stage contouring exhibited an optimal peri-implant soft tissue profile within 10 minutes of the adaptive time.