Evaluation of peri-implant soft tissues and hard tissues in titanium implants in immediate and delayed cases: A comparative study

Background and Objective: Immediate implant placement may preserve the alveolar anatomy and helps to maintain the bony crestal height. There are not enough studies addressing other outcome measures that determine the quality of survival such as the peri-implant hard and soft tissue integrity. The objective of this study was to evaluate and compare the peri-implant soft tissues, crestal bone resorption, and peri-implant bone healing in immediate and delayed implants in the esthetic zone of maxilla. Materials and Methods: Selective sampling done among the patients who reported to our center for implant placement. A total sample size of 100 implant sites in the esthetic zone of maxilla were selected from 77 patients (52 females and 25 males) with fifty sites in immediate implant group and fifty in delayed implant group. Samples from both groups were evaluated on follow-ups at 1st week, 1st month, 3rd month, and 6th month postoperatively. Evaluation was based on (1) assessment of peri-implant soft tissue by means of implant esthetic score, (2) radiographic assessment of peri-implant crestal bone loss, (3) peri-implant bone densitometry by grayscale assessment of radiograph. Results: Unpaired t-test was performed for each parameter, which showed a very high level of significance for implant esthetic score, high significance for gray scale assessment, and no significance for peri-implant crestal bone loss. Interpretation and Conclusion: The present study showed that immediate implants had better esthetic and functional outcome in terms of peri-implant soft tissue and peri-implant bone healing. However, there were no statistically significant data suggesting a lesser alveolar crestal bone loss in immediate implants.