title: Flapless single-tooth immediate implant placement.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This 15-year prospective study evaluated the success rate and preservation of the gingival margin of single implants placed in a flapless procedure loaded immediately after extraction or after a healing period.
  
  
  METHODS
  Immediate flapless implant placement was performed in patients who fulfilled specified inclusion criteria. Implants were either immediately restored with a provisional crown or left unloaded (received healing abutment only). Implant success and gingival margin levels were evaluated after implant placement and after 1 to 15 years.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 305 healthy nonsmoking subjects (90 men, 215 women) were treated with 430 immediate implants during a 15-year period (December 1994 to December 2009) and monitored for 1 to 15 years. Two hundred seventy-five implants received an immediate provisional crown, and 155 received a healing abutment. The implant survival rate was 93.03% (± 3.74%). The immediate provisional helped to maintain the original gingival margin, although the implant survival rate was higher for implants that were not immediately restored (96.78%) than for the implants that were immediately restored with a provisional (90.9%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This 15-year prospective study showed a favorable implant success rate related to the flapless immediate implant placement protocol with healing abutment placement or an immediate provisional crown to replace a single missing tooth.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinics and Surgery, School of Dentsitry of the Federal University of Alfenas, Minas Gerais, Brazil. bcarnevalli2@gmail.com
authors.forename: Breno Carnevalli Franco
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: de Carvalho
authors.forename: Elaine Manso Oliveira Franco
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: de Carvalho
authors.forename: Rafael Leonardo Xediek
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Consani
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003442:Crowns; D000044:Dental Abutments; D003758:Dental Implantation, Endosseous / Q000379:methods; D019250:Dental Implants, Single-Tooth; D017268:Dental Prosthesis Retention / Q000295:instrumentation; D019094:Dental Prosthesis, Implant-Supported; D019232:Dental Restoration Failure; D003794:Dental Restoration, Temporary / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D005881:Gingiva / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D006801:Humans; D057893:Immediate Dental Implant Loading / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008437:Maxilla / Q000601:surgery; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult