title: Analysis of the socket bone wall dimensions in the upper maxilla in relation to immediate implant placement.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Animal and human researches have shown that immediate implant placement into extraction sockets failed to prevent socket dimensional changes following tooth extraction. It has been suggested that a minimal width of 1-2 mm of buccal bone is necessary to maintain a stable vertical dimension of the alveolar crest.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To determine the dimensions of the bony wall at extraction sites in the esthetic zone (anterior teeth and premolars in the maxilla) and relate it to immediate implant placement.
  
  
  METHODS
  As part of an ongoing prospective randomized-controlled multicenter clinical study on immediate implant placement, the width of the buccal and palatal bony walls was recorded at 93 extraction sites.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean width of the buccal and palatal bony walls was 1 and 1.2 mm, respectively (P<0.05). For the anterior sites (canine to canine), the mean width of the buccal bony wall was 0.8 mm. For the posterior (premolar) sites, it was 1.1 mm (P<0.05). In the anterior sites, 87% of the buccal bony walls had a width < or = 1 mm and 3% of the walls were 2 mm wide. In the posterior sites, the corresponding values were 59% and 9%, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  If the criterion of a minimal buccal bone width of 2 mm to maintain a stable buccal bony wall is valid, only a limited number of sites in the anterior maxilla display such a clinical situation. The data suggested that in the majority of extraction sites in the anterior maxilla, thin (< or = 1 mm) buccal walls were present. This, in turn, means that in most clinical situations encountered, augmentation procedures are needed to achieve adequate bony contours around the implant.
authors.affiliation: Department of Periodontics, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSCA), 7703 Floyd Curl Drive, San Antonio, TX 78229-3900, USA. huynhba@uthscsa.edu
authors.forename: Guy
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Huynh-Ba
authors.forename: Bjarni E
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Pjetursson
authors.forename: Mariano
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sanz
authors.forename: Denis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cecchinato
authors.forename: Jorge
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ferrus
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lindhe
authors.forename: Niklaus P
authors.initials: NP
authors.lastname: Lang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000539:Alveolar Process / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000601:surgery; D003758:Dental Implantation, Endosseous / Q000379:methods*; D019250:Dental Implants, Single-Tooth; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008437:Maxilla / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000601:surgery; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D020390:Tooth Socket / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000601:surgery; D016896:Treatment Outcome