Root submergence technique as a partial extraction therapy to preserve the alveolar ridge tissues: A systematic review and appraisal of the literature.

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM: As socket grafting with commercially available biomaterials has become popular, reports of the root submergence technique for ridge preservation have decreased. A systematic review of this partial extraction therapy is lacking. PURPOSE: The purpose of this systematic review was to review the root submergence technique as well as critically appraise the available data. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A review was carried out that observed the Participant, Intervention, Comparison, Outcomes (PICO) strategy and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The focused question was "What are the outcomes of the different methods to submerge tooth roots for ridge preservation?" Medical subject headings (MeSH) terms that related to the root submergence technique were searched in PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, and the Cochrane Library databases. RESULTS: A total of 7709 abstracts and study titles were individually screened from the initial search results. After reviewing the full-text articles and applying the selection criteria, the final included search results totaled 47 full-text articles for in-depth review. In 10 animal studies, 258 roots were studied in 34 dogs and 7 monkeys. Histological data confirmed that coronal bridging (bone or cementum growth over the cut root) was a common outcome. Of the vital roots submerged, the majority maintained their vitality. In 37 human studies, 475 roots were submerged and reported on. Subjective ridge preservation was often reported. Among the adverse healing outcomes, exposure of the root through the mucosa was the most common. Nonetheless, in animals, 86.8% of roots remained submerged; in humans, 74.7%. CONCLUSIONS: Root submergence is an established technique for ridge preservation. Exposure is a common complication, and correct technique may be key to its prevention. Further research of this partial extraction therapy is encouraged.

The root submergence technique at single tooth sites to short-span edentulous sites: A step-by-step partial extraction therapy protocol.

Submerging roots for ridge preservation was the earliest partial extraction therapy and has been described since the 1970s. Despite the approximately 47 animal and human studies published since, an updated and contemporary step-by-step protocol has not yet been provided. This technique report describes in detail how to manage submerged roots at single tooth sites and at short-span edentulous areas.

Three-Dimensional (3D) Facially Driven Workflow for Anterior Ridge Defect Evaluation: A Treatment Concept.

The esthetic rehabilitation of anterior ridge defects and achieving patient satisfaction have become major clinical challenges for dentists and technicians. Poor diagnosis and treatment planning are frequently associated with multiple surgical procedures that fail to meet patient expectations. The loss of hard and soft tissues in anterior ridges results in an esthetically compromised zone that affects the rehabilitation prognosis. The presence of interdental papilla and papillary configuration play a decisive role in patient satisfaction. A treatment plan considering esthetic parameters, prosthetic needs, and morphological defects must be used to improve treatment outcomes. Therefore, this study aims to propose a treatment concept for anterior ridge defects that focuses on digital evaluation systems and is guided by an ideal facially driven smile design project. In addition, the relevance of the papilla for esthetic outcomes and treatment alternatives for anterior ridge defects are also addressed.

Esthetic tunnel exposure: A combination technique for peri-implant soft tissue development at second-stage surgery.

An esthetically pleasing result is the product of both prosthetic excellence and the health and quality of the soft tissue that frames the restoration. Management of the peri-implant coronal soft tissue is key to the ultimate success of treatment. This technique report describes an alternative, novel approach, combining established concepts and methods into a single technique to improve esthetic results.

The socket-shield technique at molar sites: A proof-of-principle technique report.

The socket-shield technique for avoiding postextraction tissue alteration was first described in 2010. The technique was developed for hopeless teeth in anterior esthetic sites but has not yet been described for molar sites. Managing postextractive ridge changes in the posterior region by prevention or regeneration remains a challenge. The socket shield aims to offset these ridge changes wherever possible, preserving the patient's residual tissues at immediate implants. This technique report describes the molar socket-shield step by step.

A novel guided surgery system with a sleeveless open frame structure: a retrospective clinical study on 38 partially edentulous patients with 1 year of follow-up.

BACKGROUND: This retrospective clinical study aims to present results of experience with a novel guided surgery system with a sleeveless, open-frame structure, in which the surgical handpiece (not the drills used for preparation) is guided. METHODS: This study was based on an evaluation of the records of partially edentulous patients who had been treated with a sleeveless open-frame guided surgery system (TWIN-Guide®, 2Ingis, Brussels, Belgium), between January 2015 and December 2017. Inclusion criteria were patients with good systemic/oral health and a minimum follow-up of 1 year. Exclusion criteria were patients who had been treated without a guide, or with a guide with sleeves, patients with systemic/oral diseases and who did not have a follow-up of 1 year. The main outcomes were surgical (fit and stability of the surgical guide, duration of the intervention, implant stability, and any intra-operative or immediate post-operative complication), biologic, and prosthetic. RESULTS: Thirty-eight patients (24 males, 14 females; mean age 56.5 ± 14.0 years) were included in the study. These patients had been treated with 110 implants inserted by means of 40 sleeveless, open-frame guides. With regard to fit and stability, 34 guides were excellent, 4 acceptable, and 2 inadequate for use. The mean duration of the intervention was 23.7 (± 6.7) minutes. Immediately after placement, 2 fixtures were not stable and had to be removed. Two patients experienced pain/swelling after surgery. The 108 surviving implants were restored with 36 single crowns and 32 fixed partial prostheses (24 two-unit and 8 three-unit bridges); these restorations survived until the 1-year follow-up, with a low incidence of biologic and prosthetic complications. CONCLUSIONS: Within the limits of this study, this novel guided surgery system with sleeveless, open frame-structure guides seems to be clinically reliable; further studies on a larger sample of patients are needed to confirm these outcomes.

Use of platelet-rich fibrin in regenerative dentistry: a systematic review.

OBJECTIVES: Research across many fields of medicine now points towards the clinical advantages of combining regenerative procedures with platelet-rich fibrin (PRF). This systematic review aimed to gather the extensive number of articles published to date on PRF in the dental field to better understand the clinical procedures where PRF may be utilized to enhance tissue/bone formation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Manuscripts were searched systematically until May 2016 and separated into the following categories: intrabony and furcation defect regeneration, extraction socket management, sinus lifting procedures, gingival recession treatment, and guided bone regeneration (GBR) including horizontal/vertical bone augmentation procedures. Only human randomized clinical trials were included for assessment. RESULTS: In total, 35 articles were selected and divided accordingly (kappa = 0.94). Overall, the use of PRF has been most investigated in periodontology for the treatment of periodontal intrabony defects and gingival recessions where the majority of studies have demonstrated favorable results in soft tissue management and repair. Little to no randomized clinical trials were found for extraction socket management although PRF has been shown to significantly decrease by tenfold dry sockets of third molars. Very little to no data was available directly investigating the effects of PRF on new bone formation in GBR, horizontal/vertical bone augmentation procedures, treatment of peri-implantitis, and sinus lifting procedures. CONCLUSIONS: Much investigation now supports the use of PRF for periodontal and soft tissue repair. Despite this, there remains a lack of well-conducted studies demonstrating convincingly the role of PRF during hard tissue bone regeneration. Future human randomized clinical studies evaluating the use of PRF on bone formation thus remain necessary. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: PRF was shown to improve soft tissue generation and limit dimensional changes post-extraction, with little available data to date supporting its use in GBR.

Partial Extraction Therapy (Part 1): Applications in Full-Arch Dental Implant Therapy.

Partial extraction therapy (PET) is a set of surgical techniques that preserve a portion of the patient's own root structure to maintain blood supply derived from the periodontal ligament complex in order to maintain the periodontium and peri-implant tissues during restorative and implant therapy. PET includes the socket shield technique (SST), proximal shield technique (PrST), pontic shield technique (PtST), and root submergence technique (RST). In a traditional hybrid technique, total extraction and full-arch dental implant therapy often require significant bone reduction and palatal/lingual implant placement. In addition, postextraction preservation of the ridge architecture is a major challenge. This case series demonstrates the use of a combination of PET techniques with digital implant planning and guided implant surgery to achieve highly esthetic outcomes in full-arch implant therapy.

Partial Extraction Therapy (Part 2): Complication Management in Full-Arch Dental Implant Therapy.

Partial extraction therapy (PET) is a group of surgical techniques that preserve the periodontium and peri-implant tissues during restorative and implant therapy by conserving a portion of the patient's own root structure to maintain the blood supply, derived from the periodontal ligament complex. PET includes the socket shield technique (SST), proximal shield technique (PrST), pontic shield technique (PtST), and root submergence technique (RST). Although their clinical success and benefits have been demonstrated, several studies report possible complications. The focus of this article is to highlight management strategies for the most common complications associated with PET, including internal root fragment exposure, external root fragment exposure, and root fragment mobility.

Socket grafting with calcium phosphosilicate alloplast putty: a histomorphometric evaluation.

BACKGROUND: Socket grafting with a bone graft substitute immediately after extraction is essential to preserve the ridge architecture for implant placement. Several bone graft substitutes have been tested for their ability to effectively regenerate osseous tissue in the sockets. Evidence suggests that socket bone typically regenerates during a period of 6 to 8 months or longer, depending on several factors including the original ridge dimensions, type of graft, and the overall systemic health of the individual. The purpose of this study is to histologically evaluate the bone regeneration potential of a novel synthetic calcium phosphosilicate putty (CPS) graft substitute. METHODS: After extraction of the involved teeth, CPS putty graft was placed, and the sockets were covered with a collagen plug. Cores were taken from 20 patients for histological evaluation prior to implant placement. Ten cores were processed decalcified with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) stain and the remaining 10 were processed undecalcified. Histomorphometric data obtained from both sets is presented. RESULTS: Histomorphometric analysis revealed an average vital bone content of 49.5 (± 20.7). A residual graft content of 4.3% (± 7.8) was observed following a healing time of 4.9 (± 0.8) months. CONCLUSIONS: Clinical and histomorphometric data suggests that CPS putty is a good choice for socket bone regeneration in implant-related surgeries.

The dual-zone therapeutic concept of managing immediate implant placement and provisional restoration in anterior extraction sockets.

Improvements in implant designs have helped advance successful immediate anterior implant placement into fresh extraction sockets. Clinical techniques described in this case enable practitioners to achieve predictable esthetic success using a method that limits the amount of buccal contour change of the extraction site ridge and potentially enhances the thickness of the peri-implant soft tissues coronal to the implant-abutment interface. This approach involves atraumatic tooth removal without flap elevation, and placing a bone graft into the residual gap around an immediate fresh-socket anterior implant with a screw-retained provisional restoration acting as a prosthetic socket seal device.

Guided Bone Regeneration of a Seibert Class III Bone Defect With Bioactive Calcium Phosphosilicate Bone Graft: Human Histology and Clinical Report.

This clinical case aimed to achieve two main objectives. The first was to determine if the use of only calcium phosphosilicate bone graft as a regeneration material (with no autologous bone added) on a severe vertical and horizontal mandibular defect would allow enough bone to be obtained to enable the placement of dental implants. The second objective was to determine histologic characteristics of the regenerated site after a healing period of 10 months.

The socket shield technique with proximal extensions for single-rooted teeth.

The conventional socket shield (SS) design extends from the mesiolabial to the distolabial line angle. C-shaped SS, L-shaped SS, and proximal SS designs have proximal extensions that help to maintain the hard and soft tissue in the interproximal areas. This is beneficial for implant sites adjacent to an existing implant or an edentulous space. The most common complication of the socket shield technique (SST) is internal shield exposure. Due to anatomical features such as a scalloped ridge shape and an oval socket shape of some teeth, the risk of complications such as internal shield exposure, inadvertent SS displacement, and fracture of the SS during implant insertion is greater in proximal shield areas. The present article describes guidelines for case selection for proximal shield extensions, along with SS preparation and the selection of implant and prosthetic components.

Dimensions of the dentogingival tissue in the anterior maxilla. A CBCT descriptive cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: The characteristics of the periodontium in anterior teeth influence the outcomes and prognosis of different periodontal, implant, and restorative procedures. In the present study, CBCT images were used to determine alveolar bone thickness and, to a lesser extent, gingival thickness. The aim was to evaluate the use of CBCT to measure the dentogingival complex in the anterior maxilla. MATERIALS AND METHODS: CBCT scans from 25 healthy patients were taken and the maxillary anterior teeth (n = 138) analyzed in the radial plane. The study provided descriptive data on gingival thickness, alveolar bone thickness (horizontal measurements), and vertical measurements related to biologic width. RESULTS: The mean distance from gingival margin to bone crest (BC) was 3.4 ± 0.7 mm, and that between the cementoenamel junction and BC was 2.6 ± 1.0 mm. The average mid-labial gingival thickness 1 mm apical of the gingival margin was 1.0 ± 0.3 mm; a thinner gingiva was observed in females (P = 0.01) and canines (P < 0.001). The average crestal labial bone thickness was 0.8 ± 0.3 mm. In total, 62% of the tooth sites had a thin gingiva (< 1 mm), and 72% had thin labial bone plates; a moderate positive correlation was found between these parameters (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: CBCT was effective in providing data on the thickness of the labial plate and gingiva as well as on the relationship among BC, CEJ, and gingival margin. The majority of tooth sites had thin labial bone and thin gingiva, with thinner gingiva observed in females and at canine sites.

The Ball Technique for Peri-implant Soft Tissue Augmentation Using a Xenogeneic Collagen Matrix: A Technical Report.

In the maxillary anterior region, augmentation to correct a soft tissue deficiency is often required for an esthetic outcome and long-term implant therapy success. This case series of three patients presents a novel approach for soft tissue augmentation using xenogeneic collagen matrix balls in the esthetic zone around the implants. This technique avoids a secondary donor site compared to autogenous connective tissue graft. With this technique, a horizontal soft tissue volume increase (range: 3 to 5 mm) was observed postsurgically and maintained at later follow-ups. The described ball technique offers a viable method for peri-implant mucosal augmentation in the maxillary anterior region.

Three-dimensional bone and soft tissue requirements for optimizing esthetic results in compromised cases with multiple implants.

Achieving an esthetic outcome in tooth replacement and implant treatment requires a proper tooth shape and stable surrounding soft tissue profiles. Bone augmentation is considered vital to support the esthetic soft tissue profile around definitive restorations. To prevent recession of the peri-implant soft tissue in cases with multiple implants, buccal bone augmentation of more than 2 mm from the implant platform is necessary to overcome the normal pattern of bone remodeling. Drawing an imaginary horizontal line spanning the space between the remaining healthy interproximal bone peaks is the most reliable vertical augmentation target to create esthetic papillae around an implant prosthesis. Provided that the adjacent bone peaks are at an ideal height and the bone is augmented vertically up to this line, the accepted general guideline of 2 to 3 mm of interproximal vertical bone augmentation from ideally placed implant platforms will invariably also be achieved. In addition, placing pontics in strategic positions to avoid consecutively placed implants has been suggested to facilitate vertical bone height preservation after bone augmentation. Even with esthetically successful results, there have been very few long-term studies on compromised cases with multiple implants. This will become more and more critical over time and must be remedied.

Prosthetic gingival reconstruction in fixed partial restorations. Part 3: laboratory procedures and maintenance.

Part 1 of the present series presented a rationale for including prosthetic gingiva in the planning of a fixed restoration to ensure an esthetic result for patients with severe horizontal and vertical ridge deficiencies. The second part focused on the diagnostic and treatment planning aspects of the use of artificial gingiva. This third and final installment in the series focuses on the laboratory and clinical procedures involved in fabricating a prosthesis with artificial gingiva and provides information on proper maintenance of these restorations.

Buccal Sliding Palatal Pedicle Flap Technique for Wound Closure After Ridge Augmentation.

One standard approach for wound closure after ridge augmentation is coronal flap advancement. Coronal flap advancement results in displacement of the mucogingival junction and reduction of the vestibulum. In the maxilla, a buccal sliding palatal flap can be applied for primary wound closure after ridge augmentation. The dissected part of the palatal connective tissue is left exposed, thus eliminating or reducing the amount of the coronal flap advancement respectively and increasing the amount of keratinized gingiva. In combination with guided soft tissue augmentation, this flap design enables a three-dimensional peri-implant soft tissue augmentation.

A decade of the socket-shield technique: a step-by-step partial extraction therapy protocol.

Ten years have passed since Hürzeler and coworkers first introduced the socket-shield technique. Much has developed and evolved with regard to partial extraction therapy, a collective concept of utilizing the patient's own tooth root to preserve the periodontium and peri-implant tissue. The specifications, steps, instrumentation, and procedures discussed in this article are the result of extensive experience in refining the socket-shield technique as we know it today. A repeatable, predictable protocol is requisite to providing tooth replacement in esthetic dentistry. Moreover, a standardized protocol provides a better framework for clinicians to report data relating to the technique with procedural consistency. This article aims to illustrate a reproducible, step-by-step protocol for the socket-shield technique at immediate implant placement and provisionalization for single-rooted teeth.