Implant Contour Augmentation With Connective Tissue Graft In Esthetic Sites

To report soft tissue stability with connective tissue graft in single tooth gaps in esthetic sites. Patients with a single tooth gap in the anterior maxilla and horizontal alveolar defect were enrolled. All sites had a bucco-palatal bone dimension of at least 5.5 mm, received a single implant and autologous connective tissue graft with immediate provisional restoration to re-establish buccal soft tissue convexity. Subsequently, the anterior maxillary region was scanned by an intraoral scanning system at five time points: preoperation, after implant installation,1.5 months, 3 months, 6 months (with delivery of the definitive restoration), and 12 months (with the definitive restoration). The Standard Tessellation Language files were exported to a dedicated software and superimposed for visual analysis. 13 patients were enrolled in this study. The median buccal mucosal thickness increased by 2.98±0.28 mm after implant installation, and increased by 2.18±0.21 mm at 1.5 months, increased by 1.71±0.16 mm at 3 months, increased by 1.88±0.17 mm at 6 months, and increased by 1.79±0.18 at 12 months. Implant placement with concomitant connective tissue graft appears to be an appropriate means to contour preexisting buccal alveolar volume deficiencies in single implants.