Background The peri‐implant soft tissue phenotype (PSP) encompasses the keratinized mucosa width (KMW), mucosal thickness (MT), and supracrestal tissue height (STH). Numerous approaches to augment soft tissue volume around endosseous dental implants have been investigated. To what extent PSP modification is beneficial for peri‐implant health has been subject of debate in the field of implant dentistry. The aim of this systematic review was to analyze the evidence regarding the efficacy of soft tissue augmentation procedures aimed at modifying the PSP and their impact on peri‐implant health. Methods A comprehensive search was performed to identify clinical studies that involved soft tissue augmentation around dental implants and reported findings on KMW, MT, and/or STH changes. The effect of the intervention on peri‐implant health was also assessed. Selected articles were classified based on the general type of surgical approach to increase PSP, either bilaminar or an apically positioned flap (APF) technique. A network meta‐analysis including only randomized‐controlled trials (RCTs) reporting on PSP outcomes was conducted to assess and compare different techniques. Results A total of 52 articles were included in the qualitative analysis, and 23 RCTs were included as part of the network meta‐analysis. Sixteen RCTs reported the outcomes of PSP modification therapy with bilaminar techniques, whereas 7 involved the use of APF. The analysis showed that bilaminar techniques in combination with soft tissue grafts (connective tissue graft [CTG], collagen matrix [CM], and acellular dermal matrix [ADM]) resulted in a significant increase in MT compared to non‐augmented sites. In particular, CTG and ADM were associated with higher MT gain as compared to CM and non‐augmented sites. However, no significant differences in KMW were observed across different bilaminar techniques. PSP modification via a bilaminar approach utilizing either CTG or CM showed beneficial effects on marginal bone level stability. APF‐based approaches in combination with free gingival graft (FGG), CTG, CM, or ADM showed a significant KMW gain compared to non‐augmented sites. However, compared to APF alone, only FGG exhibited a significantly higher KMW gain. APF with any evaluated soft tissue graft was associated with with reduction of probing depth, soft tissue dehiscence and plaque index compared to non‐augmented sites compared to non‐augmented sites. The evidence regarding the effect of PSP modification via APF‐based approaches on peri‐implant marginal bone loss or preservation is inconclusive. Conclusions Bilaminar approach involving CTG or ADM obtained the highest amount of MT gain, whereas APF in combination with FGG was the most effective technique for increasing KMW. KMW augmentation via APF was associated with a significant reduction in probing depth, soft tissue dehiscence and plaque index, regardless of the soft tissue grafting material employed, whereas bilaminar techniques with CTG or CM showed beneficial effects on marginal bone lev...

Background The incidence of a peri‐implant soft tissue dehiscence/deficiency (PSTD) is not a rare finding. Despite multiple previous attempts aimed at correcting the PSTDs, a classification of these conditions has not yet been proposed. This lack in the literature may also lead to discrepancies in the reported treatment outcomes and thus misinform the clinician or the readers. The aim of the present article was therefore to present a classification of peri‐implant PSTD at a single implant site. Methods Four classes of PSTDs were discussed based on the position of the gingival margin of the implant‐supported crown in relation to the homologous natural tooth. In addition, the bucco‐lingual position of the implant head was also taken into consideration. Each class was further subdivided based on the height of the anatomical papillae. Results Subsequently, for each respective category a surgical approach (including bilaminar techniques, the combined prosthetic‐surgical approach or soft tissue augmentation with a submerged healing) was also suggested. Conclusion This paper provides a new classification system for describing PSTDs at single implant sites, with the appropriate recommended treatment protocol.

Aim: To evaluate the long-term outcomes of Acellular Dermal Matrix (ADM) with Coronally Advanced Flap (CAF) or Tunnel technique (TUN) in the treatment of multiple adjacent gingival recessions (MAGRs). Material and methods: Nineteen of the original 24 patients contributing to a total number of 33 sites for CAF and 34 for TUN were available for the 12 years follow-up examination. Recession depth, mean root coverage (mRC), keratinized tissue width (KTW), gingival thickness (GT) were evaluated and compared with baseline values and 6-months results. Regression analysis was performed to identify factors related to the stability of the gingival margin.

TUN is an effective procedure in treating localized and multiple GR defects. Limited evidence is available comparing TUN to CAF; however, CAF seemed to be associated with higher percentage of CRC than was TUN when the same grafts (connective tissue or acellular dermal matrix) were used in both techniques.

Background: The periodontal phenotype consists of the bone morphotype, the keratinized tissue (KT), and gingival thickness (GT). The latter two components, overlying the bone, constitute the gingival phenotype. Several techniques have been proposed for enhancing or augmenting KT or GT. However, how phenotype modification therapy (PMT) affects periodontal health and whether the obtained outcomes are maintained over time have not been elucidated. The aim of the present review was to summarize the available evidence in regard to the utilized approaches for gingival PMT and assess their comparative efficacy in augmenting KT, GT and in improving periodontal health using autogenous, allogenic, and xenogeneic grafting approaches. Methods: A detailed systematic search was performed to identify eligible randomized clinical trials (RCTs) reporting on the changes in GT and KT (primary outcomes). The selected articles were segregated into the type of approach based on having performed a root coverage, or non-root coverage procedure. A network meta-analysis (NMA) was conducted for each approach to assess and compare the outcomes among different treatment arms for the primary outcomes. Results: A total of 105 eligible RCTs were included. 95 pertaining to root coverage (3,539 treated gingival recessions [GRs]), and 10 for non-root coverage procedures (699 total treated sites). The analysis on root coverage procedures showed that all investigated techniques (the acellular dermal matrix [ADM], collagen matrix [CM], connective tissue graft [CTG]) are able to significantly increase the GT, compared with treatment with flap alone. However, KT was only significantly increased with the use of CTG or ADM. Early post-treatment GT was found to inversely predict future GR. For non-root coverage procedures, only the changes in KT could be analyzed; all investigated treatment groups (ADM, CM, free gingival graft [FGG], living cellular construct [LCC], in combination with an apically positioned flap [APF]), resulted in significantly more KT than treatment with APF alone. Additionally, the augmented GT was shown to be sustained, and KT displayed an incremental increase over time.

The stability of root coverage outcomes has gained a great deal of interest. However, insufficient evidence is available, mainly due to limited direct comparisons among different techniques and the small sample size among clinical trials. Therefore, the aim of this study was to propose a mixed-models network meta-analysis (NMA) that includes the novelty of assessing time on root coverage outcomes while simultaneously comparing different surgical approaches. A literature search was performed by 2 individual reviewers to identify randomized clinical trials (RCTs) reporting the outcomes of root coverage procedures of at least 2 time points to estimate the slopes of different treatment approaches. The primary outcomes were the changes in slopes for recession depth (REC), keratinized tissue width (KTW), and clinical attachment level. Sixty RCTs with a total of 2,554 gingival recessions (1,864 patients) were included in the NMA. Connective tissue graft (CTG) and enamel matrix derivative (EMD) approaches provided superior initial REC reduction compared to flap advancement alone. However, only CTG-based procedures were effective in maintaining the stability of the gingival margin over time, while EMD, acellular dermal matrix, collagen matrix, and flap alone showed a similar tendency for gingival recession recurrence. Baseline REC and KTW at the earliest postoperative recall were predictors for the stability of the gingival margin. In addition, a geographic center effect on the treatment slopes was observed for REC and KTW. While limitations of the present linear mixed-modeling approach should be considered as it refers to estimation and comparison of time slopes based on an examined while linear framework, the designed NMA showed to be an effective tool for the simultaneous comparison of multiple treatment approaches while taking into account the critical element of time.

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Objectives: A randomized clinical trial was conducted to compare all three known static guided surgery protocols (pilot, partial, and full) with each other and with freehand surgery in terms of accuracy, under the same conditions. Material and Methods:A total of 207 implants of the same brand and type were placed in 101 partially edentulous volunteers in need of implantation in the mandible or maxilla or both. All cases were digitally planned, and the comparison of the planned and actual implant positions was performed using a medical image analysis software with dedicated algorithms. The primary outcome variable was angular deviation (AD, degrees). The secondary outcome variables were coronal global deviation (CGD, mm), apical global deviation (AGD, mm), and voxel overlap (VO, %).Results: AD showed stepwise improvement in significant steps as the amount of guidance increased. The highest mean AD (7.03° ± 3.44) was obtained by freehand surgery and the lowest by fully guided surgery (3.04° ± 1.51). As for the secondary outcome variables, all guided protocols turned out to be significantly superior to freehand surgery, but they were not always significantly different from each other. Conclusions:As for the comparison that this study sought to perform, it can be said that the static guided approach significantly improves the accuracy of dental implant surgery as compared to freehand surgery. Furthermore, the results suggest that any degree of guidance yields better results than freehand surgery and that increasing the level of guidance increases accuracy. K E Y W O R D Scomputer-assisted surgery, dental implants, oral surgical procedures, prosthodontics, randomized controlled trial This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes.