The Relationship Between the Amount of Peri-implant Keratinized Mucosa and Patient Satisfaction

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between periimplant soft tissue health, the amount of periimplant keratinized mucosa, and the satisfaction of patients who applied to the Ankara University Faculty of Dentistry and had a fixed implant-assisted restoration in the premolar and/or molar region at least 1 year after the functional loading of implant treatment. Methods: 40 implants from 40 patients, of which 24 were female and 16 were male, were included in our study. Periimplant soft tissue health was objectively evaluated with clinical measurements and a radiographic examination. The amount of keratinized mucosa around the implants was measured and recorded. Afterwards, the patients were asked to fill out a (subjective) questionnaire that included socio-demographic data and evaluated their satisfaction with their implants by VAS. Results: All patients in the healthy group had keratinized mucosa. In this study, a mean total VAS score of 8.40 out of 10 indicates that patients are satisfied with implant treatments. However, the relationship between chewing, speech, aesthetics, pain and discomfort, the presence of bleeding scores, and the total VAS score was statistically significant. There was a statistically significant difference between those without keratinized mucosa, those with inadequate keratinized mucosa, and those with present/adequate keratinized mucosa in terms of speech VAS score (p=0.050). Conclusions: In our study, the presence of keratinized mucosa significantly affected VAS scores at the speech level. KEYWORDS Dental implants, oral mucosa, patient satisfaction, periimplant