Distraction osteogenesis: a treatment tool to improve baseline conditions for esthetic restorations on immediately...

Replacement of two adjacent teeth in an anterior maxilla with deficient hard and soft tissues appears to be the utmost challenge in implant dentistry in the esthetic zone. In this case report, baseline conditions for implant placement were improved by alveolar distraction to enhance hard and soft tissues around the maxillary central incisors. Three months after the active phase of distraction, the roots of the central incisors were extracted and two screw-type dental implants were immediately placed into the extraction sockets. For immediate provisionalization, acrylic resin crowns were fabricated on UCLA abutments, providing the ideal emergence profile to support the periimplant soft tissue. Six months after implant placement, the prosthetic restoration of the case was finished with ceramic crowns cemented to individually fabricated zirconium oxide abutments. The described treatment strategy appears to have a great potential to restore natural esthetics in cases with major tissue deficiencies in the esthetic zone.