Management of soft tissue problems around dental implants. Esthetic and functional aspects.

The peri-implant mucosa is important for functional, biological and esthetic aspects. Whereas the keratinized mucosa affects functional and health issues, the volume and the level of the soft tissue determines the esthetics.

The importance of soft tissue in implant dentistry is often underestimated. Evidence has demonstrated that the long-term survival of osseointegrated implants is also partly dependent on the sealing function and stability of the peri-implant mucosa. The goals of soft tissue augmentation surrounding implants are to create sufficient zones of attached non-mobile tissues with intimate adaptation to transmucosal implant structure for function and health, and to reconstruct the soft tissue architecture for esthetic purposes.

Placement of the implant in the esthetic zone is extremely technique sensitive. Patients expect not only proper functioning with their restored implants, but to also have a reasonable esthetic outcome. Several surgical and non-surgical procedures have been proposed to preserve or regenerate soft tissue in peri-implant areas. This webinar deals with the functional and esthetic aspects of soft tissues surrounding dental implants and presents a variety of surgical procedures for the treatment of soft tissue deficiencies in the esthetic zone.