Dentistry

Abstract

Socket Transformation: A Feasible Alternative before Immediate Implant Placement in the Esthetic Zone

Li W and Lau SL

Front teeth situated close to buccal plate can be considered as the most challenging situation for immediate implant placement. Conventionally, implant placement will be delayed after the socket has healed up. However, if there is a high demand for esthetic and an immediate fixed restoration, socket transformation could be considered. Grafting the buccal concavity will be performed first with controlling of the infection by elective root canal and apiectomy. The extraction of problematic tooth and immediate implantation will be performed several months later after the bone graft healed up. In this sense, immediate implant will be more feasible by a thickened buccal bone in terms of implant stability and long term soft tissue esthetic. Socket transformation can make a difficult situation for immediate implantation, if not impossible, to a feasible case, thus achieving all the advantages from immediate implantation.