Transmucosal healing following polished-collar implant placement with simultaneous guided bone regeneration: A case series with a 3-year follow-up after insertion of final restorations.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the medium-term clinical, radiographic and aesthetic outcomes of polished-collar implants placed with simultaneous horizontal guided bone regeneration and transmucosal healing after a minimum follow-up period of 3 years. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients treated with implant placement and simultaneous guided bone regeneration between January 2021 and November 2022 were screened. Inclusion criteria included placement of a polished-collar implant, horizontal guided bone regeneration and transmucosal healing. Baseline was defined as 7 to 14 days after delivery of the final prosthetic restoration and follow-up was performed after at least 3 years. The primary outcome was change in marginal bone level. Secondary outcomes included probing depth, bleeding on probing, plaque control record, keratinised tissue, midfacial recession and Pink Esthetic Score. Non-parametric tests were applied. RESULTS: Twenty patients (12 men, 8 women) were included, with a mean follow-up period of 42.0 ± 5.2 months. Mean marginal bone level was 1.06 ± 0.55 mm at baseline and 1.10 ± 0.52 mm at follow-up (change in marginal bone level -0.08 ± 1.02 mm). Fifty percent of implants showed no bone loss or slight gain, 45% 1 mm loss and 5% between 1.0 and 1.5 mm; no implants showed loss ≥ 1.5 mm. Probing depth, bleeding on probing, keratinised tissue and midfacial recession remained unchanged (P > 0.05), while plaque control record increased (P = 0.013). Pink Esthetic Score improved from 10.40 ± 1.79 to 11.90 ± 1.80 (P 0.001). Implant survival rate was 100%. Peri-implant health was observed in 85% of cases and mucositis in 15%, with no peri-implantitis. CONCLUSION: Simultaneous horizontal guided bone regeneration with transmucosal healing around polished-collar implants resulted in stable marginal bone levels and favourable clinical and aesthetic outcomes after 3 years of loading. CONFLICT-OF-INTEREST STATEMENT: The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest relating to this study.