Esthetic outcomes after immediate and late implant loading for a single missing tooth in the anterior maxilla

Abstract

Objective: This study compared the esthetic outcomes of 1‑year follow‑up of immediate and late implant loading after implant restoration of a single tooth in the anterior maxilla.

Materials and Methods: A total of 33 patients with missing teeth in the anterior maxilla (Central = 8/lateral = 22/canine = 3) were enrolled in this study (18 immediate loading and 15 late loading). At after cementation, 1, 3, 6, and 12 months photographs were taken of anterior maxilla. The photographs were assessed using pink esthetic score (PES) which consists of seven variables. All PES data were analyzed with independent sample t‑tests and repeated measures ANOVAs.

Results: PES values increased significantly in both groups at the 1‑year follow‑up (P > 0.05). There was no statistically significant difference between the immediate and late loading groups at any time point (P > 0.05).

Conclusions: Within the limitation of this study, immediate loading did not have a negative effect on esthetics.

Keywords: Esthetic success, loading protocols, pink esthetic score