Clinical and radiographic performance of immediately-placed and immediately-provisionalised dental implants with a...

The aim of this article was to evaluate clinical outcomes of single immediately placed and restored dental implants using a co-axial inverted body-shift design with a synthetic graft material in the anterior maxilla. A prospective case series was conducted on patients receiving single immediate implants in the anterior maxilla. Sixteen-month clinical and radiographic assessments included biological and technical complications, gingival margin stability, papilla preservation, and aesthetic outcomes using the modified Pink Esthetic Score (modPES) and White Esthetic Score (WES). Post-operative cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) measured labial plate thickness, and serial intra-oral scans quantified soft-tissue changes. Fifteen patients were evaluated at 16 months. Mean modPES was 7.5 and mean WES was 7. CBCT showed a mean labial plate thickness of 1.5 mm (0.6-3.1 mm). Buccal crest position was coronal to the abutment in 11/15 cases (mean +1.1 mm). Soft-tissue changes showed mean mid-facial recession of -0.5 mm, mesial papilla loss of -0.5 mm, and distal papilla loss of -0.3 mm. To conclude, immediate placement and loading using this implant design, combined with the dual-zone approach and synthetic grafting, resulted in minimal soft-tissue change, maintained papillae, and yielded high aesthetic scores, supporting it as a predictable option for anterior single-tooth replacement.