Garber D A, Belser U C
Department of Periodontics, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, USA.
Compend Contin Educ Dent. 1995 Aug;16(8):796, 798-802, 804.
In any restoration or natural tooth, the surrounding soft-tissue profile plays an integral role in the final esthetics of a case. Similarly in implant restorations, it is no longer sufficient to merely attach a prosthetic device to the underlying fixture, but for optimal esthetics it has become essential for the implant site to be reconstituted in a three-dimensional approach. This invariably involves redevelopment or replacement of lost hard tissue and redevelopment of the correct soft-tissue profile, so that the implant can be placed in the desired position as determined by the restoration, while the soft-tissue profiles are in turn generated by the actual form and contours of the prosthetic device. This article addresses an approach to implant site development.
