Peri-implant soft tissue management: Where are we?

Dental implants have evolved dramatically over the last decade, and so have our expectations from them in terms of functional and esthetic criteria. The maintenance and augmentation of the soft tissue has emerged as an area of concern and focus. The triad of anatomical peri-implant characteristics, soft tissue response to the implant material, and clinical skill form the fundamental principles in augmenting soft tissue. However, as clinicians, where are we with regards to the ability to augment and maintain soft tissue around dental implants, about 40 years after the first implants were placed? We now understand that peri-implant soft tissue management begins with extraction management. Our treatment modalities have evolved from socket compression post-extraction, to socket preservation with an aim to enhance the eventual peri-implant soft tissue. This short communication will assess the evolution of our thought regarding peri-implant soft tissue management, augmentation of keratinized mucosa around implants, and also look at some recent techniques including the rotated pedicle connective tissue graft for enhancing inter-implant papilla architecture. With newer research modalities, such as cyto-detachment technology, and cutting-edge bioengineering solutions (possibly a soft-tissue-implant construct) which might be available in the near future for enhancing soft tissue, we are certainly in an exciting era in dentistry.