Biological width around one- and two-piece implants retrieved from human jaws

Area of Science:

• Dental Implantology
• Periodontology
• Oral Histology

Background:

• Limited human data exists on peri-implant soft tissues and biological width.
• Animal studies provide some insights, but human studies are scarce.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the biological width around unloaded one-piece and two-piece dental implants in human jaws.
• To investigate histologic differences in peri-implant soft tissues between implant types.

Main Methods:

• Histologic analysis of peri-implant tissues around retrieved one-piece and two-piece implants.
• Eight partially edentulous patients received one of each implant type in the posterior mandible.
• Implants and surrounding tissues were retrieved after 4 months of healing for analysis.

Main Results:

• No marginal bone loss, gaps, or fibrous tissue were observed around implants.
• Biologic width was significantly greater for two-piece implants (3.26 ± 0.15 mm) than one-piece implants (2.55 ± 0.16 mm).
• The difference in biologic width was primarily due to connective tissue attachment, not sulcus depth or epithelial junction.

Conclusions:

• Two-piece implants demonstrated a larger biologic width compared to one-piece implants in this human case series.
• This increase in biologic width is attributed to a thicker connective tissue attachment around two-piece implants.
• Findings suggest potential differences in soft tissue integration between one-piece and two-piece dental implant designs.