Flapless Postextraction Socket Implant Placement, Part 3: The Effects of Bone Grafting and Provisional Restoration on Soft Tissue Color Change-A Retrospective Pilot Study.

This article presents the results of a soft tissue color study on flapless immediate implant therapy from a sample of 23 patients who received either a provisional restoration alone or with bone grafting. The gingival color in clinical photographs was measured for the implant and for the contralateral tooth site at 2.0 and 5.0 mm below the free gingival margin using Photoshop software (Lightroom CC, Adobe). The average color difference (ΔE) values for the two groups were 2.6 and 2.4 at 2.0 mm and 1.9 and 2.5 at 5.0 mm from the free gingival margin, respectively. Approximately 80% of the sites were below the visibly perceptible threshold (ΔE = 3.1 ± 1.5) and not detectable by the human eye. The use of provisional restorations has shown positive outcomes on the stability of peri-implant soft tissue thickness and lower ΔE values. Further research is required to assess esthetic outcomes inclusive of color change relative to the clinical treatment rendered.