Prosthetic management of gingival recession around implants: lessons learned from staged-approach treatment planning

Complex implant rehabilitations can include procedures requiring multiple phases of treatment, commonly referred to as staged approaches. The reasons for staged approaches are varied but usually involve serial extraction of hopeless teeth. These treatment plans both enable the patient to avoid removable prostheses by keeping natural teeth during healing phases, and circumvent the immediate loading of some implants placed in grafted bone. One major disadvantage to serial extraction in a staged approach is the potential for gingival changes. These changes include gingival recession around abutments that can affect the gingival profile around the finished case. This article discusses varying approaches for dealing with these gingival changes and suggests protocol modifications during the implant treatment-planning phase.