The management of severe mucogingival deformities surrounding malpositioned implants represents a complex issue with a high risk of aesthetic failure. The present case report describes a mucogingival and restorative approach for the treatment of severe localized peri-implant tissue deficiencies with interproximal bone loss combined with an interproximal gingival recession on the adjacent natural tooth. This consists of maintaining a non-restorable malpositioned implant, submerging it through one or multiple vertical soft tissue augmentations, according to the defect severity, and delivering a tooth supported bridge involving the adjacent natural teeth. The step-by-step surgical technique adopted for implant submergence and vertical soft tissue grafting, as well as the subsequent surgical and prosthetic interventions, are described, presenting results at 5 years from implant submergence and 3 years from prosthetic finalization. Palabras clave: Implants, Periodontal Surgery, Prosthetic Dentistry, Gingival Recession, Mucogingival Surgery, Dental Implant, Case Report

A simplified surgical technique is presented for closure and soft tissue augmentation of fresh extraction sockets that utilizes a xenogeneic collagen matrix as a substitute for a combined onlay-interpositional connective tissue graft. Ten alveoli receiving a socket preservation procedure (n = 5) or an immediate submerged implant (n = 5) were sealed with a xenogeneic collagen matrix, stabilized under small palatal and buccal full-thickness envelope flaps. Eight weeks after surgery, full wound closure was achieved in 9 out of 10 sites with satisfactory esthetic integration (mean ΔE score: 3.76). Results from this descriptive observational study suggest that this technique may represent a valuable and minimally invasive solution to simplify closure and soft tissue augmentation of fresh extraction sockets.