Anatomically Driven Immediate Implant Placement in the Esthetic Zone: Two Case Reports as Proof of Principle

Abstract

Achieving favorable and stable esthetic outcomes with immediate implants used to replace maxillary anterior teeth can be challenging. Osteotomies need to be initiated along the palatal socket wall, and it is often difficult to stabilize initial drilling. An immediate implant was planned for a hopeless maxillary incisor. Using a flapless surgery technique, the tooth was removed and decoronated, and an entry point was made in the root to guide the osteotomy drills. The root was reinserted and stabilized while a precision drill and 2-mm twist drill were used in sequence to drill through the tooth root, establishing the osteotomy location but stopping 3-4 mm short of final depth. The root was then removed, and the final implant bur for a 3.5 × 11.5-mm implant was drilled to depth, engaging the necessary native bone apically. The original tooth crown was then used to prepare and insert a transitional crown. Reinserting the extracted root of a maxillary anterior tooth and using it as a guide for osteotomy preparation is an excellent method to optimally position an immediate implant palatally in the socket wall.