Rudolf Fürhauser*1; Busenlechner Dieter2; Nikolaus Fürhauser1; Georg Jr. Mailath2; Bernhard Pommer3; Lukas Fürhauser1

1Prosthetic Department; 2Surgical Department; 3Research Department, Academy for Oral Implantology, Vienna, Austria

Background: Implant esthetics may benefit from individualized zirconia abutments copying the emergence profile of the natural tooth and delivered within hours after immediate implant insertion.

Aim/Hypothesis: The aim of the present study was to investigate the esthetic outcome of the Copy-Abutment technique using the Pink Esthetic Score (PES).

Material and Methods: A total of 77 patients with single-tooth implants in the anterior maxilla restored at the day of immediate implant placement using Copy-Abutments and provisional crowns were followed-up after 1 week, 1 month, 4 months, 6 months, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 10 years to assess implant esthetics.

Results: Pink Esthetic Scores ranged between 7 and 14 (median: 13) and improved significantly between the 6 month and 1 year follow-up (P < 0.001), then remained stable up to the tenth year. Significant improvement was seen for the variables PES-6 soft tissue color (P < 0.002) and PES-7 soft tissue texture (P < 0.001) up to the 1 year follow-up, while PES-5 alveolar process deficiency deteriorated (P = 0.016). Mean mucosal recession was 0.26 ± 0.86 mm (range: 0–1.6 mm) after 10 years and not related to gingival biotype.

Conclusion and Clinical implications: Copy-Abutments for immediate restoration of implants in the esthetic zone show satisfactory long-term esthetic outcomes.

Disclosure of Interest: None Declared.

Keywords: abutment, aesthetic zone, all-ceramic