The effect of immediate implant placement on alveolar ridge preservation compared to spontaneous healing after tooth extraction: Soft tissue findings from a randomized controlled clinical trial.

Abstract

To compare soft tissue dimensional changes and relative differences in soft and hard tissue volumes 4months after single-tooth extraction and three different treatment modalities: spontaneous healing (SH) and alveolar ridge preservation by means of a deproteinized bovine bone mineral and a collagen matrix, with (IMPL/DBBM/CM) or without (DBBM/CM) immediate implant placement. STL files from study casts obtained at baseline and after 4months were matched to calculate buccal soft tissue linear and volumetric changes. DICOM files from CBCTs were superimposed to STL files allowing the evaluation of soft tissue thickness at baseline and 4months. Mean horizontal reduction accounted for 1.46±0.20 (SH), 0.85±0.38 (DBBM-CM) and 0.84±0.30 IMPL/DBBM-CM, with no statistical differences. Soft tissue thickness had a significant mean increase of 0.95 for SH group, compared to a non-significant mean decrease for DBBM-CM (0.20) and IMPL/DBBM-CM groups (0.07). A preservation technique with DBBM-CM, with or without immediate implant placement, did not reduce the horizontal linear and volumetric changes at the buccal soft tissue profile significantly at 4months after tooth extraction when compared to spontaneous healing. This is due to a significant increase in soft tissue thickness in spontaneously healing sites.