Peri-implant Soft Tissue Thickness Research Articles

A Clinical Study Assessing the Influence of Anodized Titanium and Zirconium Dioxide Abutments and Peri-implant Soft Tissue Thickness on the Optical Outcome of Implant-Supported Lithium Disilicate Single Crowns.

To assess the influence of anodized titanium and zirconium dioxide abutments and peri-implant soft tissue thickness on the optical outcome of implant-supported lithium disilicate single crowns. Twenty patients with a missing maxillary single incisor, canine, or first premolar received an endosseous implant after a two-stage surgery protocol. After healing and soft tissue conditioning, peri-implant soft tissues were reproduced in the impression, and the thickness was measured. Customized abutments were made of titanium, gold-anodized titanium, pink-anodized titanium, and zirconium dioxide. The definitive prosthesis was a lithium disilicate crown stratified by feldsphatic porcelain. Customized abutments were screwed (35 Ncm), and the crown was temporarily placed on the abutment with a try-in paste. Color measurements were made using a spectrophotometer. CIELab color scale was employed following the formula: ΔE = (ΔL)² + (Δa) ² + (Δb) ². Data were analyzed using repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA), Bonferroni and Pearson's correlation tests (α = .05). Abutment material type significantly affected the ΔE values at both the peri-implant soft tissue (P = .0001) and coronal level (P = .001). The lowest ΔE values were obtained with zirconia abutments at both soft tissue (6.06 ± 3.2) and coronal level (5.76 ± 2.9) compared with those of other abutments (soft tissue: 8.96 ± 3.1 to 11.56 ± 3.4; coronal: 8.66 ± 6.1 to 10.42 ± 6.3). Mean soft tissue thickness (1.63 ± 0.64 mm) affected the ΔE values at the peri-implant soft tissue level for only titanium and pink-anodized titanium abutments (P = .024 and P = .048, respectively). In all conditions, correlation coefficients between ΔE and the abutment materials were higher for titanium (r = -0.544; P = .024) and the least for zirconia (r = -0.313; P = .238) and gold-anodized titanium (r = -0.393; P = .119) abutments. All abutment types demonstrated noticeable color difference at both the soft tissue and coronal levels. Zirconia abutments showed the lowest ΔE values at both measurement zones. Soft tissue thickness did not affect the ΔE values at the peri-implant soft tissue level.

Influence of Abutment Color and Mucosal Thickness on Soft Tissue Color.

Zirconia (ZrO₂) and titanium nitride (TiN) implant abutments were introduced mainly for esthetic purposes, as titanium's gray color can be visible through mucosal tissues. This study was aimed at assessing whether ZrO₂ and TiN abutments could achieve better esthetics in comparison with titanium (Ti) abutments, regarding the appearance of soft tissues. Ninety patients were included in the study. Each patient was provided with an implant (OsseoSpeed, Dentsply Implant System). A two-stage surgical technique was performed. Six months later, surgical reentry was performed. After 1 week, provisional restorations were screwed onto the implants. After 8 weeks, implant-level impressions were taken and soft tissue thickness was recorded, ranking thin (≤ 2 mm) or thick (≥ 2 mm). Patients were randomly allocated to three experimental groups, based on abutment type: (1) Ti, (2) TiN, and (3) ZrO₂. After 15 weeks, the final restorations were delivered. The mucosal area referring to each abutment was measured for color using a clinical spectrophotometer (Easyshade, VITA); color measurements of the contralateral areas referring to natural teeth were performed at the same time. The data were collected using the Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage (CIE) L*a*b* color system, and ΔE was calculated between peri-implant and contralateral soft tissues. A critical threshold of ΔE = 3.7 was selected. The chi-square test was used to identify statistically significant differences in ΔE between thin and thick mucosal tissues and among the abutment types. Three patients were lost at follow-up. No statistically significant differences were noticed as to the abutment type (P = .966). Statistically significant differences in ΔE were recorded between thick and thin peri-implant soft tissues (P < .001). Only 2 out of 64 patients with thick soft tissues showed a ΔE higher than 3.7: 1 in the TiN group and 1 in the ZrO₂ group. All the patients with thin soft tissues reported color changes that exceeded the critical threshold. The different abutment materials showed comparable results in terms of influence on soft tissue color. Regarding peri-implant soft tissue thickness, the influence of the tested abutments on soft tissue color became clinically relevant for values ≤ 2 mm.

Changes of the peri-implant soft tissue thickness after grafting with a collagen matrix.

Background:The aim of this study was to determine the treatment outcome of the use of a porcine monolayer collagen matrix (mCM) to increase soft-tissue volume as a part of implant site development.Materials and Methods:Implants were placed in single sites in 27 patients. In the test group, mCM was used for soft-tissue augmentation. No graft was placed in the control group. Soft-tissue thickness (STTh) was measured at the time of surgery (T0) and 6 months postoperatively (T1) at two sites (STTh 1, 1 mm below the gingival margin; STTh 2, 3 mm below the mucogingival margin).Results:Significant increases (P < 0.001) in STTh (STTh 1 = 1.06 mm, 117%; STTh 2 = 0.89 mm, 81%) were observed in the test group. Biopsy results showed angiogenesis and mature connective tissue covered by keratinized epithelium.Conclusions:Within the limitations of this study, it could be concluded that mCM leads to a significant increase of peri-implant soft-tissue thickness, with good histological integration and replacement by soft tissue and may serve as an alternative to connective tissue grafting.

The use of acellular dermal matrix membrane for vertical soft tissue augmentation during submerged implant placement: a case series.

To evaluate the efficiency of acellular dermal matrix membrane to augment vertical peri-implant soft tissue thickness during submerged implant placement. Forty acellular dermal matrix-derived allogenic membranes (AlloDerm, BioHorizons, Birmingham, AL, USA) and 42 laser-modified surface internal hex implants (BioHorizons Tapered Laser Lok, Birmingham, AL, USA) were placed in submerged approach in 40 patients (15 males and 25 females, mean age 42.5 ± 1.7) with a thin vertical soft tissue thickness of 2 mm or less. After 3 months, healing abutments were connected to implants, and the augmented soft tissue thickness was measured with periodontal probe. The gain in vertical soft tissue volume was calculated. Mann-Whitney U-test was applied and significance was set to 0.05. All 40 allografts healed successfully. Thin soft tissue before augmentation had an average thickness of 1.54 ± 0.51 mm SD (range, 0.5-2.0 mm, median 1.75 mm), and after soft tissue augmentation with acellular dermal matrix, thickness increased to 3.75 ± 0.54 mm SD (range, 3.0-5.0 mm, median 4.0 mm) at 3 months after placement. This difference between medians was found to be statistically significant (P < 0.001). Mean increase in soft tissue thickness was 2.21 ± 0.85 mm SD (range, 1.0-4.5 mm, median 2.0 mm). It can be concluded that acellular dermal matrix membrane can be successfully used for vertical soft tissue augmentation.

Modified roll flap a handy technique to augment the peri-implant soft tissue in the esthetic zone: A randomized controlled clinical trial

The esthetic outcome of single-tooth implants in the esthetic zone has become increasingly important concern in the current literature. Deficient or thin per-implant labial soft tissue thickness seriously and adversely affects the esthetic outcome of such situations. The modified roll flap (MRF) is a pedicle flap designed to make use of the gingival tissue overlying the covering screw to expand the thickness of the labial soft tissue instead of discarding it as in flapless technique. The current randomized control trial assesses the efficiency of the MRF technique for augmenting the labial peri-implant soft tissue during stage-two implant surgery. The outcome measures include the measurement of the labial soft tissue thickness and the implant esthetic score system (IES). Methods12 out of 14 patients (8 males and 4 females) aged from 20 to 50 years old were included. All patients were suffering a missing tooth in the esthetic zone and surrounded by a thin gingival biotype classified according to TRAN technique and direct method. At stage II surgery, patients were randomly split to: Control group using a standard crestal incision and MRF study group. All surgical procedures were performed by a single operator the principal author*. Thickness was measured by the direct method using periodontal probe with endodontic stopper via a special stent with a fixed hole to ensure reproducible measurements. A modified form of the IES system composed of the summation of four parameters individually measured was used to assess esthetics. All assessments were performed by a single Co-author who was blinded to the group under evaluation. ResultsThe MRF group showed a statistically significant difference over the control group regarding thickness at baseline, 3 month (P = 0.01) and 6 month postoperatively (P = 0.03). The IES score showed a statistically significant difference in favor of MRF at 3 and 6 month (P < 0.05), while, the baseline measurement was not significant (P > 0.05). ConclusionMRF is a cost effective convenient technique that can effectively augment the thickness of the labial peri-implant soft tissue and help to achieve better appearance in the esthetic zone.

Influence of abutment material on the gingival color of implant-supported all-ceramic restorations: a prospective multicenter study

The aim of this clinical research on implant-supported restorations is to analyze, through spectrophotometric digital technology, the influence of the abutment material on the color of the peri-implant soft tissue. Twenty patients received an endosseous dental implant in the anterior maxilla. At the time of each definitive prosthesis delivery, an all-ceramic crown has been tried on gold, titanium and zirconia abutment. After the insertion of each single abutment, the peri-implant soft tissue color has been measured through a spectrophotometer. Also, the thickness of the facial peri-implant soft tissue was measured at the level of the implant neck through a caliper. A specific software has been utilized to identify a specific tissue area and to collect the data before the statistical analysis in Lab* color space. The normality of the quantitative variables was verified by means of the Shapiro-Wilk test. Simple linear correlation between quantitative variables was evaluated by using Pearson's coefficient. The results on the performance of the abutment materials with regard to the color measurements and the overall measurement ΔE were described by computing the least-square means. The significance of differences among types of abutment was verified by means of the Scheffe test for multiple comparisons. For all the abutments used, the color of the peri-implant soft tissue appeared to be significantly different from the one of the contra-lateral tooth (ΔE>8.5). Significantly higher (P<0.05) difference were present with the use of titanium abutments (11 ± 0.4) when compared with the results of gold (8.9 ± 0.4) and zirconia (8.5 ± 0.4) abutments. No correlation has been demonstrated between soft tissue thickness and degree of color difference (P>0.25). Within the limitation of the present study, the peri-implant soft tissue color appears to be different from the soft tissue color around natural teeth, no matter which type of restorative material is selected. When titanium abutment was selected, significantly higher differences were present than those obtained with gold or zirconia abutments. The thickness of the peri-implant soft tissue did not appear to be a crucial factor in the abutment impact on the soft tissue color.