title: Clinical analysis of the soft tissue integration of non-submerged (ITI) and submerged (3i) implants: a prospective-controlled cohort study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to compare the soft tissue integration of submerged and non-submerged implants by means of periodontal parameter assessments and analysis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty-one patients, who received 42 non-submerged implants (ITI) and 48 submerged implants (3i), participated in the study. There was no significant difference (P>0.05) between both groups considering gender; educational level; handedness; toothbrushing frequency; the number of auxiliary devices used; and smoking habits. The parameters assessed were gingival index (GI), plaque index (PII), retention index (RI), pocket probing depth (PPD) and keratinized mucosa index.
  
  
  RESULTS
  At evaluation, 66.67% of all sites showed a GI of 0; 72.22% a PI of 0, and 93.33% the absence of calculus. The average PPD was 2.56 mm in the non-submerged and 2.70 mm in the submerged group. With regard to the width of keratinized mucosa, 100% of the ITI implants showed a band of keratinized gingiva around the implant, whereas 14.58% in the 3i group showed a complete absence of keratinized mucosa. The intra-examiner reproducibility was 90.96% for all parameters and the Kendall tau-b analysis showed a powerless correlation between the chosen parameters for both studied groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The study material showed no major differences between submerged and non-submerged dental implants regarding GI, PII, RI and PPD, except the width of keratinized mucosa. Regarding the presence of keratinized mucosa, there is a need for further longitudinal studies to elucidate a possible benefit of one implant system over the other.
authors.affiliation: School of Dentistry of the Federal University of Bahia, São Paulo, SP, Brazil. rvgarcia@uol.com.br
authors.forename: Ricardo Vieira
authors.initials: RV
authors.lastname: Garcia
authors.forename: Michael Alexander
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Kraehenmann
authors.forename: Fábio José Barbosa
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Bezerra
authors.forename: Carlos Maurício Cardeal
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Mendes
authors.forename: Gisela Estela
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Rapp
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003742:Dental Devices, Home Care; D003758:Dental Implantation, Endosseous / Q000379:methods*; D015921:Dental Implants; D003774:Dental Plaque Index; D017267:Dental Prosthesis Design; D017268:Dental Prosthesis Retention; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D005881:Gingiva / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007633:Keratins; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010512:Periodontal Index; D010514:Periodontal Pocket / Q000145:classification; D010519:Periodontium / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012907:Smoking; D014099:Toothbrushing; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D015921:Dental Implants; D007633:Keratins