Immediate placement of dental implants in the esthetic zone: a systematic review and pooled analysis

Research interest on immediate placement of dental implants has shifted from implant survival toward optimal preservation of soft and hard tissues. The aim of this study is to systematically assess the condition of implant survival, peri-implant hard and soft tissue changes, esthetic outcome, and patient satisfaction of immediately placed single-tooth implants in the esthetic zone.

MEDLINE, EMBASE, and CENTRAL databases were searched for publications up to June 2013. Studies reporting on implant survival, changes in hard and soft peri-implant tissues, esthetic outcome, and patient satisfaction were considered. A pooled analysis was performed to identify factors associated with survival and peri-implant tissue changes after immediate implant placement.

Thirty-four studies were considered eligible. Immediate placement of single-tooth implants in the esthetic zone was accompanied by excellent 1-year implant survival (97.1%, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.958 to 0.980). Mean marginal peri-implant bone loss was 0.81 ± 0.48 mm, mean loss of interproximal peri-implant mucosa level was 0.38 ± 0.23 mm, and mean loss of peri-implant midfacial mucosa level was 0.54 ± 0.39 mm. Regression analysis revealed that delayed provisionalization (odds ratio [OR] 58.03, 95% CI: 8.05 to 418.41, P <0.000), use of a flap (OR 19.87, 95% CI: 10.21 to 38.66, P <0.000), and use of a connective tissue graft (OR 4.56, 95% CI: 1.72 to 12.08, P <0.002) were associated with marginal peri-implant bone-level change >0.50 mm. Because of underreporting, esthetic results and patient outcome did not allow for reliable analysis.

Immediate placement with immediate provisionalization of dental implants in the esthetic zone results in excellent short-term treatment outcome in terms of implant survival and minimal change of peri-implant soft and hard tissue dimensions.