Zero Bone Loss Protocol: Influence of Vertical Soft Tissue Thickness on Crestal Bone Stability
Crestal bone stability is considered to be important for bone preservation, longevity of implants and to prevent peri-implant tissue recession. Implant placement level is important for bone stability. Mucosal tissue thickness was shown to be the factor having impact on bone stability. It was showed that platform switching does not reduce crestal bone loss, if soft tissues at the implant placement are thin.

A Microsurgical Approach in the Esthetic Zone: Recession Coverage Utilizing a Modified Tunneling Technique
This surgical video is intended to present a predictable technique for recession coverage. Using micro surgical instruments in a minimal invasive manner, we can avoid tissue damage and we can enhance the healing of the surrounding structures.

Abutment Selection and Tissue Modeling in Implant Dentistry
Dr. Barry Goldenberg outlines the unique role that the implant abutment/connection complex plays in peri-implant tissue stability. Specifically, how the interactions of the various components in this complex, and their relationship to each other, influence the shape, color and contour of the critical soft tissue around implants in the esthetic zone. In addition, stock and custom abutments are compared relative to their respective benefits.

Managing Esthetic Implant Complications
Dental implant success today is judged not only by osseointegration but also by bone, tissue stability and of course long term esthetic results. Cosmetic predictability can often be difficult to attain, and esthetic implant failures can be multifactorial and patient management issues. Once esthetic implant failures occur, many cannot be fully corrected. Some complications must be addressed by an interdisciplinary dental team. In this summary of case reports, surgical considerations are provided, including cases of facial asymmetry/recession due to facial implant placement or bone loss resulting from technique/treatment failures, as well as papillary deficiencies. Restorative considerations for correcting failures are also discussed.

Acellular Dermal Grafts in the Correction of Gingival Recession: Discovering the Possibilities
Autogenous connective tissue grafts from the palate have been the gold standard for surgically correcting gingival recession for decades. With the advent of newer soft (and hard) tissue allografts, grafting procedures are increasingly predictable, quick, effective, and less painful for patients. In this presentation, follow the evolution of root coverage surgery from autogenous grafts to the more contemporary alternatives of today. Discover how these newer materials are making it easier for patients to say "yes" and how their results can impact the level of esthetics, periodontal health and predictable restorative dentistry our profession can deliver.

The Socket Shield Technique - Have the Rules of the Game Changed in Aesthetic Zone Implant Therapy?
Implant therapy is in the age of being increasingly aesthetically driven, not merely restorative. With the increasing popularity of immediate implants, particularly with anterior tooth extraction, the relevance of socket changes following extraction has come to the fore. Contrary to what was originally believed, the installation of an immediate implant does not arrest bone loss, and immediate implants in the aesthetic zone are prone to recession of bone and soft tissue as a result of bundle bone resorption which is obligatory with tooth extraction.

Peri-Implant Tissue Response Following Connective Tissue and Bone Grafting in Conjunction with Immediate Single-Tooth Replacement in the Esthetic Zone
The case series evaluated the peri-implant tissue response following extraction and immediate placement and restoration of an implant in conjunction with subepithelial connective tissue graft (SCTG) and bone grafting in the esthetic zone.

The Aesthetic Smile: Diagnosis and Treatment
Until recently, dentists' and the public's concept of dental aesthetics was necessarily limited to alterations of the teeth themselves. Dentists concerned themselves with changing the position, the shape and the color of the teeth -basically restoring missing units or enhancing those already present. For the most part the dentist was forced to accept the pre-existing relationship between the three components of the smile; the teeth, the gingival scaffold and the lips.

Ridge Preservation with Modified “Socket-Shield” Technique: A Methodological Case Series
After tooth extraction, the alveolar bone undergoes a remodeling process, which leads to horizontal and vertical bone loss. These resorption processes complicate dental rehabilitation, particularly in connection with implants. Various methods of guided bone regeneration (GBR) have been described to retain the original dimension of the bone after extraction. Most procedures use filler materials and membranes to support the buccal plate and soft tissue, to stabilize the coagulum and to prevent epithelial ingrowth.