Patients with periodontitis face significantly increased risks of implant failure and peri-implantitis. These adverse outcomes are mainly associated with the enrichment of periodontal pathogens and microbial dysbiosis, host immune imbalance, smoking, and poor adherence to supportive periodontal therapy. In addition, complex hard- and soft-tissue defects and occlusal trauma caused by periodontitis further increase the complexity and long-term uncertainty of implant therapy. Therefore, implant treatment in patients with periodontitis should adopt a systematic management strategy centered on “inflammation control, functional reconstruction, and long-term maintenance.” On the premise of periodontal inflammation control and stable maintenance, clinicians should comprehensively evaluate the remaining dentition, hard-tissue and soft-tissue defects, dental implant surgical plan, prosthetic modality, and occlusal load. When necessary, hard-tissue and soft-tissue augmentation procedures should be performed to reconstruct a stable tissue founda tion. Digital technologies should also be integrated to coordinate the three-dimensional implant position, tissue support, and biomechanical load distribution, thereby achieving stable functional and esthetic rehabilitation. Further, risk stratification, plaque control, host inflammatory modulation, supportive periodontal therapy, and behavioral interventions should be reinforced to improve the long-term stability and predictability of implant rehabilitation. In the future, the integration of multi-omics technologies, artificial intelligence-based risk prediction, digital-intelligent implant workflows, and novel regenerative materials may further promote individualized precision therapy.

After tooth extraction, labial contour collapses due to inevitable physiologic bone remodeling. To achieve optimal outcomes for pink esthetic treatment at anterior implant sites, bone or soft tissue augmentation has been advocated to maintain or reconstruct the labial tissue contour. When choosing soft tissue augmentation for esthetic restoration, it is necessary to strictly grasp the indications for surgery. Soft tissue augmentation to maintain or reconstruct the labial tissue contour could be considered in patients with healthy soft tissue and no bone defects or only mild horizontal bone defects. In immediate, early and late implant placement, the timing of soft tissue augmentation may vary. In immediate implantation, the labial bone plate is intact, so it is highly recommended to simultaneously manage soft tissue during implant placement. However, patients may have large bone defects with early or late implant placement. The risk of augmenting bone and soft tissue simultaneously is likely too high, and bone augmentation surgery is often performed at the first stage while soft tissue augmentation surgery is performed at the second stage. Therefore, soft tissue surgery is often carried out simultaneously with abutment connection. Currently, soft tissue augmentation is achieved mostly with adjacent autologous soft tissue grafts, such as free gingival grafts, subepithelial connective tissue grafts or pedicle palatal flaps, which are often accompanied by a second surgical area. The replacement of autogenous soft tissue grafting with new biological materials will become an inevitable trend. In this article, we analyze and summarize the indications, timing and different methods of soft tissue augmentation to maintain and reconstruct the labial contour.