Significance of Facial Bone Thickness After Dental Implantations in Healed Ridges: A Literature Review.

Literature has suggested that a minimum threshold of bone thickness facial to a dental implant is necessary to ensure successful implantations. The authors, therefore, decided to review the effect of buccal bone thickness on horizontal and vertical bone resorption, recession, and implant survival. Databases were searched, and seven human studies were found that evaluated the effect of facial bone thickness on hard- and soft-tissue outcomes and survival rates related to dental implants. Results revealed that a wide range of buccal bone thickness after implant placement (0.5 mm to ≥2 mm) resulted in a high implant survival rate (97% to 100%). Vertical and horizontal bone loss usually occurs following implant placement, 0.4 mm to 1 mm and 0.08 mm to 0.7 mm, respectively, after restorations are placed. Peri-implant mucosal recession of around 0.5 mm is frequently observed 1 year after implant placement. This literature review concluded that implants have a high survival rate despite a range of facial bone thickness adjacent to implants. It also found that no minimum initial facial bone thickness adjacent to an implant could be verified that would preclude horizontal and vertical bone loss after implant insertions.