The pediculated connective tissue graft: a technique for improving unaesthetic implant restorations

Clinicians are often faced with the treatment of complex aesthetic dilemmas around implants, which can be caused by improper fixture placement and inadequate soft tissue management. Even the most aesthetic porcelain crown restoration will have an undesirable appearance if the soft tissue architecture is deficient. Although some implant fixtures may need to be trephined and the site grafted and retreated, this is a long process and may have an unpredictable outcome. One alternative is to attempt soft tissue augmentation around the unaesthetic restoration. Cases will be used to demonstrate the use of the pediculated connective tissue graft to augment deficiencies in soft tissue around previously restored implants in the maxillary aesthetic zone.