The Use of a Collagen Scaffold to Augment Buccal Ridge Contour Concurrently with Implant Placement: A Two-Case Report.

The aim of this report is to present a technique for buccal soft tissue contour augmentation with the use of a porcine volume-stable collagen matrix (VSCM). Augmentation of buccal soft tissue at the time of implant placement is often a necessity but is mostly performed using autogenous tissue. The technique using a VSCM can be done at the time of implant placement or, in the case of a two-stage procedure, at the time of implant uncovering. Here, clinical outcomes are reported in two cases when using VSCM concurrently with implant placement at sites in need of buccal contour augmentation to achieve a functional, esthetic result. The use of a xenograft poses several advantages over autogenous tissue while providing similar gains in soft tissue thickness. By eliminating the need to harvest a soft tissue graft from the palate, patient morbidity is reduced, and the reliance on palatal tissue thickness, to determine the amount of achievable augmentation, is eliminated.