Soft Tissue Stability around Single Implants Inserted to Replace Maxillary Lateral Incisors: A 3D Evaluation

Figure 2

Immediate implant placement in postextraction socket (test group) of an adult female patient (34 years old): (a) overlapping of digital images (S2 over S1): colorimetric map, first setting (50 μm). Since the variations in soft tissue volume over 2 years did not exceed 50 μm, the only color visualized was green; (b) overlapping of digital images (S2 over S1): colorimetric map, second setting (25 μm). Only in a few restricted areas was a variation/reduction in soft tissue volume > 25 μm registered: therefore, the predominant color was still green; (c) overlapping of digital images (S2 over S1): colorimetric map, third setting (10 μm). Overall, the soft tissues were stable and did not show contractions > 10 μm, but the soft tissues overlying the vestibular (bundle) bone showed some kind of variation/reduction over time, as they were depicted in light blue; (d) overlapping of digital images (S2 over S1): colorimetric map, fourth setting (5 μm). The area of the vestibular mucosa overlying the vestibular (bundle) bone was clearly the most affected by tissue contraction over time, although the mean (±SD) soft tissue reduction in the whole inspected area amounted to 0.024 mm (±0.048) only.

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