Clinical outcomes of immediate implantation and provisionalization combined with guided bone regeneration for a single anterior maxillary tooth with a thin facial bone phenotype

To study the postoperative soft and hard tissue changes and aesthetic effect of immediate implantation and provisionalization (IIPP) combined with guided bone regeneration (GBR) for a single anterior maxillary tooth with a thin facial bone phenotype.

A total of 34 patients with thin facial bone (<1 mm) were categorized into two groups: a flapped GBR group and a flapless group. Tooth extraction and IIPP were conducted at the sites in both groups. Implant survival rates, dimensional changes in soft and hard tissues during the six- and twelve-month follow-ups, the pink esthetic score (PES) and patient satisfaction scores at the twelve-month follow-up were measured.

The implant survival rates were 100% in both groups, and no complications occurred during the 12 months after surgery. The facial bone thickness remained over 2 mm on all measured sides, and the height of the facial bone crest remained at 1.39 mm at the 12-month follow-up in the flapped GBR group, while the facial bone thickness remained less than 2 mm on all measured sides, and the height of the facial bone crest remained at 1.03 mm at the 12-month follow-up in the flapless group. The absorption of facial bone at all measured sides in the flapped GBR group was greater than that in the flapless group (P<0.05). There was no significant difference between the two groups in the dimensional changes of labial soft tissues during the six- and twelve-month follow-ups (P>0.05). The mean PES scores were 10.29 ± 2.34 for the flap GBR group and 10.12±1.78 for the flapless group (P = 0.807). The mean patient satisfaction scores were 8.65 ± 1.27 in the flapped GBR group and 8.76 ± 1.25 in the flapless group, and the patients in both of the groups were satisfied with the esthetic outcomes (P = 0.787).

IIPP combined with GBR might be a prospective treatment strategy for a single anterior maxillary tooth with a thin facial bone phenotype, but the esthetic risks should never be ignored.