Socket shield technique, a novel approach for the esthetic rehabilitation of edentulous maxillary anterior alveolar ridges: A special case file

Abstract

Implant placement in the maxillary anterior region has always been challenging for the implantologists. Different levels of gingival display, along with the uncertainty of soft- and hard-tissue changes postextraction make things highly predictable in this part of the alveolar ridges. This difficulty is augmented by the patient's desire to have teeth in this esthetic zone immediately. Researchers have devised certain techniques to address this issue and one such method of an immediate, highly esthetic rehabilitation is called the socket shield technique (SST). The use of cortical engagement in this region along with SST gives the operator an opportunity to immediately load the prosthesis with optimal esthetic outcomes. Another challenging issue secondary to implant therapy is peri-implant infections, including the more common peri-implantitis. The presence of rough implant surfaces, when exposed to the oral environment, leads to the formation of a kind of nidus, which, further, feeds soft- and hard-tissue loss. The presence of a periapical pathology from previous dentition may also infect the implant surface. An attempt was made in this case to utilize the SST along with the provision of smooth-surfaced dental implants, stabilized with cortical engagement, for the replacement of missing maxillary anterior teeth.