Crestal bone loss and soft tissue changes in epicrestal versus subcrestal implants: An in vivo study

The long-term success of dental implants depends on preservation of crestal bone and peri-implant soft tissue, yet the optimal depth of implant placement remains controversial. Therefore, it is of interest to compare clinical and radiographic outcomes of epicrestal and subcrestal implant placement at baseline, 6 months and 12 months. Groups showed comparable baseline conditions with no significant intergroup differences (p > 0.05), while subcrestal implants showed consistently lower marginal bone loss and probing depths over time. Although intragroup comparisons revealed significant bone loss progression (p < 0.001), all outcomes remained within acceptable clinical success criteria. Thus, we report that subcrestal implant placement offer a biological advantage in peri-implant tissue preservation despite statistically comparable outcomes.