Influence of buccal bony crest width on marginal dimensions of peri-implant hard and soft tissues after implant installation. An experimental study in dogs.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the influence of the width of the buccal bony wall on hard and soft tissue dimensions following implant installation.


METHODS
Mandibular premolars and first molars of six Labrador dogs were extracted bilaterally. After 3 months of healing, two recipient sites, one on each side of the mandible, were prepared in such a way as to obtain a buccal bony ridge width of about 2 mm in the right (control) and 1 mm in the left sides (test), respectively. Implants were installed with the coronal margin flush with the buccal alveolar bony crest. Abutments were placed and the flaps were sutured to allow a non-submerged healing. After 3 months, the animals were euthanized and ground sections obtained.


RESULTS
All implants were completely osseointegrated. In respect to the coronal rough margin of the implant, the most coronal bone-to-implant contact was apically located 1.04 ± 0.91 and 0.94 ± 0.87 mm at the test and control sites, respectively, whereas the top of the bony crest was located 0.30 ± 0.40 mm at the test and 0.57 ± 0.49 mm at the control sites. No statistically significant differences were found. A larger horizontal bone resorption, however, evaluated 1 mm apically to the rough margin, was found at the control (1.1 ± 0.7 mm) compared to the test (0.3 ± 0.3 mm) sites, the difference being statistically significant. A thin peri-implant mucosa (2.4-2.6 mm) was found at implant installation while, after 3 months of healing, a biological width of 3.90-4.40 mm was observed with no statistically significant differences between control and test sites.


CONCLUSIONS
A width of the buccal bony wall of 1or 2 mm at implant sites yielded similar results after 3 months of healing in relation of hard tissue and soft tissues dimensions after implant installation.
ARDEC, Ariminum Odontologica, Rimini, Italy.
Gabriele M
GM
Baffone
Daniele
D
Botticelli
Flavia Priscila
FP
Pereira
Giacomo
G
Favero
Michael
M
Schweikert
Niklaus P
NP
Lang
D000539:Alveolar Process / Q000601:surgery*; D000818:Animals; D001641:Bicuspid; D016723:Bone Remodeling; D000044:Dental Abutments; D003758:Dental Implantation, Endosseous / Q000379:methods*; D015921:Dental Implants; D017267:Dental Prosthesis Design; D004285:Dogs; D008334:Mandible / Q000601:surgery*; D008963:Molar; D016348:Osseointegration; D014081:Tooth Extraction; D014945:Wound Healing
D015921:Dental Implants