Influence of Soft Tissue Thickness on the Bone Level Around Implants

Inclusion Criteria: To qualify for the study, the patients had to be \>18 years and have missing teeth in the esthetic zone. Additional inclusion criteria were as follows: * missing single or double teeth in the anterior area of their upper or lower jaw with a proper inter arch relationship (incisors, canines and first premolar) with a ridge width (bucco-lingual) greater than 5 mm at its narrowest point and a minimum keratinized gingiva height of 2 mm buccally. * No previous soft tissue augmentation procedure at experimental site Exclusion Criteria: The criteria that disqualified patients from the study were previous grafting procedures in the area of interest and systemic or local diseases that could compromise healing or osteointegration. Smokers and patients with bruxism were also excluded from the study. Additional exclusion criteria were as follows: * implants placed with an insertion torque of 35 Ncm or less; * irradiation in the head and neck area; * untreated periodontitis; * poor oral hygiene (plaque score Approximal Plaque Index (API) 20%, bleeding score 10%) and * poor motivation; * fresh post extraction sockets