The dome technique: a new surgical technique to enhance soft-tissue margins and emergence profiles around implants placed in the esthetic zone

Achieving symmetry of the soft-tissue margins between anterior maxillary dental-implant restorations and adjacent teeth is a therapeutic challenge for both the implant surgeon and the restorative dentist. This article describes a modified procedure utilizing autogenous connective-tissue grafts to improve primarily buccal soft-tissue margins and secondarily inter-proximal tissues around tooth-bound single dental implants. This technique has the advantage of allowing for coronal augmentation of the peri-implant soft tissue while maximizing the blood supply to the area by using tunneling-technique principles. A detailed description of the technique and a case with a stable result over 24 months after crown placement is presented.