• Journal of the Korean Academy of Esthetic Dentistry
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.16-22
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• 2023

Esthetic factors are very important in the success of maxillary anterior implant restoration. However, achieving esthetic results is difficult, especially in cases where periodontitis has resulted in severe alveolar bone loss. In the case of maxillary anterior teeth, the alveolar ridge resorption that begins immediately after tooth extraction interferes with the esthetic implant restoration. Therefore immediate implant placement can be performed to minimize the alveolar ridge resorption. However, in severe bone loss cases, immediate implant placement could result in esthetic failure, and this result might cause irreparable problems. We can also perform alveolar ridge preservation and then place implants later. On JCP published in 2019, there is the consensus of European academy of periodontology on the extraction socket management and the timing of implant placement. This consensus states that alveolar ridge preservation should be considered when there is severe labial bone loss in an esthetically important area such as maxillary anterior region. On performing the alveolar ridge preservation, we cannot obtain the primary wound closure, so secondary wound healing is induced with open membrane technique or soft tissue grafting should be performed for primary wound closure. However, the secondary wound healing can have a negative impact on bone regeneration, and soft tissue grafting such as FGG or CT graft can be burdensome for both patients and dentists. On the other hand, by using the granulation tissue in the extraction socket, primary closure can be achieved without soft tissue grafting. Also some studies have shown that granulation tissue in periodontal defects contains stem cells that may help in tissue regeneration. Based on this, implant restorations were performed on maxillary anterior teeth with severe alveolar bone loss by alveolar ridge preservation using granulation tissue. In spite of the severe bone defect of the extraction socket, relatively esthetic results could be obtained in implant restorations.