Use of the natural tooth for soft tissue development: a case series

The achievement of optimal esthetics around anterior dental implants has been a major challenge for many clinicians. The key to an esthetically pleasing appearance lies in the clinician's ability to properly manage the soft tissue profile around dental implants. Hence, the purpose of this case report is to describe a new technique that uses the patient's own natural tooth for the provisional implant restoration to develop soft tissue architecture that is almost identical to the patient's original immediately after tooth extraction. Ten consecutively treated patients were included in this series. Clinical measurements included soft tissue height, papilla appearance, and probing pocket depths. Other parameters such as radiographic bone levels and quality-of-life ratings were also recorded. Results from this study showed that all patients achieved a normal or Class 1 papilla appearance similar to the original appearance of the natural tooth. All patients were very happy with the treatment outcome. This newly suggested approach for restoring an anterior implant can be valuable and esthetically pleasing.