title: Guided tissue healing for single-tooth implants.
abstract: The emergence profile of a single-tooth implant abutment has a significant effect on the esthetics of the final restoration. Most healing abutments are cylindrical, unlike the nonround contours of the natural teeth being replaced. The resulting peri-implant sulcus is round rather than having the correct anatomic cross-sectional shape. This disparity may compromise the ideal emergence profile of the final restoration. This article presents a technique in which a custom abutment and provisional crown or the definitive restoration can be placed at second-stage surgery to guide tissue healing to optimum form and esthetics.
authors.affiliation: Mississippi University Medical Center, School of Dentistry, Jackson, USA.
authors.forename: G W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Cobb
authors.forename: G W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Reeves
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Duncan
mesh_terms: D000540:Alveolar Ridge Augmentation; D001861:Bone Regeneration; D000044:Dental Abutments; D003758:Dental Implantation, Endosseous / Q000379:methods*; D019250:Dental Implants, Single-Tooth; D003761:Dental Impression Technique; D016557:Guided Tissue Regeneration, Periodontal; D006801:Humans