The impact of buccal bone defects and immediate Placement on the esthetic outcome of maxillary anterior Single- Tooth implants

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the impact of buccal bone defects and immediate placement on the esthetic outcome of maxillary anterior single- Tooth implants. The archives of the Department of Dental Implants & Tissue Regeneration at Hygeia Hospital during a 5-year period (2010-2014) were retrospectively analyzed, in search of patients treated with a single- Tooth implant after extraction of a maxillary incisor. The status of the buccal bone plate and the time of implant placement were recorded. The pink esthetic score (PES) of each case was evaluated, with a maximum score of 14. In total, 91 patients were included in the study. The mean PES was 10.5. The outcome was considered satisfactory (PES≥8) in 89% and (almost) perfect (PES ≥12) in 35% of the cases. Immediate implant placement had no impact on PES (P>.05), even though it demonstrated slightly greater variability. On the other hand, buccal bone defects had a negative effect on PES (P