Dynamics of soft tissue healing at implants and teeth: a study in a dog model.

Objective: The aim of this study was to describe and to compare some characteristics of the soft tissue healing process around teeth and implants after flap surgery.

Material And Methods: Five adult beagle dogs had their third and fourth lower premolars extracted. After 3 months, four implants per dog were placed on the healed alveolar ridge and allowed to heal non-submerged during 3 months. After 3 months, four regions characterized by one implant and one adjacent tooth were identified in each dog. One region was randomly selected and soft tissue ressective flap surgery was performed at its buccal aspect. The remaining three regions were randomly treated in an identical manner, and the dogs were sacrificed to provide biopsies representing healing intervals of 1, 2, 4, and 12 weeks. The biopsies were prepared for histological and morphological analyses.

Results: Morphometric and histometric analyses have shown that the gingival tissues surrounding teeth were completely healed after a 4-week interval. However, it took from 4 to 12 weeks for the peri-implant mucosa to heal completely.

Conclusion: The healing process around teeth and implants follows a similar sequence of events. Nevertheless, the complete process of healing and maturation of the peri-implant tissues takes longer than around teeth.