Soft tissue stability around dental implants after soft tissue grafting from the lateral palate or the tuberosity area - A randomized controlled clinical study

Aim: To compare the soft tissue stability (STA) around single implants previously augmented with either subepithelial connective tissue graft (SCTG) from the lateral palate (LP) or from the tuberosity area (TA).

Material and methods: Twenty-nine patients showing 33 implants with buccal volume deficiency randomly received SCTG from LP (control group/CG) or TA (test group/TG). At 4 months (FU-4) the definitive crown was installed and an intra-oral scan performed. At 12 months (FU-12), a new scan was registered. Between FU-4 and FU-12 STA was evaluated by STL image superimposition. Clinical parameters and the modified pink aesthetic score (PES) (Fürhauser et al. 2005) were recorded.

Results: After FU-4 both tissues demonstrated a similar STA without statistically significant differences (SSD). The mean soft tissue changes were 0.03 ± 0.22 mm for CG and 0.04 ± 0.23 mm for TG (p = .870). SSD were observed for changes in keratinized tissue (KT) with greater stability for TG (0 ± 0.32 mm) compared with CG (-0.3 ± 0.33 mm) (p = .002). PES resulted in mean values of 8.37 ± 2.46 for CG and 8.54 ± 2.43 for TG (p=.59).

Conclusions: Both groups demonstrated similar STA between the definitive crown placement and 12 months, while greater stability of the KT gained was observed in TG.