Predictable immediate implant placement and restoration in the esthetic zone

This article describes a comprehensive step-by-step protocol for immediate implant placement and restoration in the esthetic zone. Clinical Considerations Immediate implant placement into fresh extraction sockets and immediate restoration have become widely accepted, demonstrating long-term success rates that are comparable with traditional delayed implant protocols. However, they are technique sensitive and require proper treatment planning as well as meticulous execution to be predictable and successful in the long term. This is particularly important in the esthetic zone, where even minor aberrations and mistakes can have devastating consequences, and especially in younger patients, where esthetic and functional outcomes should remain stable for years and possibly decades to come. The eight critical steps for predictable immediate implant placement include: provisional restoration of the failing tooth and presurgical phase, atraumatic tooth extraction, initial implant osteotomy, 3D bone graft packing, guided implant placement with a surgical guide, customized abutment insertion, provisional crown relining, and placement of a connective tissue graft from tuberosity. Immediate implant protocols in the esthetic zone require thorough planning and execution in the proper sequence. Each one of the critical steps discussed in this article has its own importance and challenges, which are critically assessed based on current scientific evidence.