Aim: The objective of the present study was to determine the 3-year clinical and dimensional soft tissue change following implant placement in healed sites before and after loading with either customized or conventional healing abutments.
Materials and methods: Premolar/molar implants were immediately loaded with either provisional and customized abutments without finishing lines according to the principles of the biologically oriented preparation technique (BOPT; test group) or conventional healing abutments (control group). Three months later, the definitive crowns were fabricated. Primary outcomes (soft tissue changes) and secondary outcomes (adverse events) were registered.
Results: A total of 50 of the 87 subjects who were originally included were finally selected for the present retrospective analysis: 23 in the test group and 27 in the control group. During the first days after surgery, two adverse events of mucositis occurred, one in each group. A few technical complications were recorded such as the unscrewing of four screw-retained crowns. A significant increase in the alveolar width was observed in both groups (test: +2.5 ± 0.5 mm; control: +1.0 ± 0.9 mm). The widths appeared unchanged from 3 months to 3 years in both groups. There were no significant differences regarding the width of the keratinized mucosa measured at baseline and after follow-up. The Jemt papilla index showed a higher increase in the test group compared with the control group.
Conclusions: Within the 3-year follow-up period, the peri-implant soft tissue outcomes of single, immediately loaded implants with customized healing abutments showed better results in terms of thickness and width compared with those of the conventional group. The number of side effects (mucositis and dehiscence) appeared to be very similar for both groups. In addition, customized healing abutments led to significant augmentation of the alveolar width, which was more than twice of that registered in the conventional group.