The effects of tissue punch diameter on healing around implants in flapless implant surgery / 대한치과보철학회지

ABSTRACT

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM: Flapless implant surgery using a soft tissue punch device requires a circumferential excision of the mucosa at the implant site. To date, Although there have been several reports on clinical outcomes of flapless implant surgeries, there are no published reports that address the appropriate size of the soft tissue punch for peri-implant tissue healing. PURPOSE: In an attempt to help produce guidelines for the use of soft tissue punches, this animal study was undertaken to examine the effect of soft tissue punch size on the healing of peri-implant tissue in a canine mandible model. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Bilateral, edentulated, flat alveolar ridges were created in the mandibles of six mongrel dogs. After a three month healing period, three fixtures (diameter, 4.0 mm) were placed on each side of the mandible using 3 mm, 4 mm, or 5 mm soft tissue punches. During subsequent healing periods, the peri-implant mucosa was evaluated using clinical, radiological, and histometric parameters, which included Gingival Index, bleeding on probing, probing pocket depth, marginal bone loss, and vertical dimension measurements of the peri-implant tissues. RESULTS: The results showed significant differences (P or = 4 mm. CONCLUSION: Within the limit of this study, the size of the soft tissue punch plays an important role in achieving optimal healing. Our findings support the use of tissue punch that 1 mm smaller than implant itself to obtain better peri-implant tissue healing around flapless implants.