Miha Pirc

Dental implant treatment has revolutionized restorative dentistry, offering a widely utilized approach for supporting fixed and removable prostheses in partially or fully edentulous patients. High survival rates, supported by a plethora of systematic reviews and clinical studies, have been consistently reported. However, the focus on long-term outcomes has primarily centered around implant survival rates and Marginal bone levels, lacking clinically relevant parameters from a clinician’s perspective. Consequently, the definition of “”implant success”” has evolved to encompass technical, biological, and esthetic outcomes. The demand for implant-supported reconstructions that not only restore function but also deliver biologically and esthetically pleasing outcomes has posed a significant challenge. Recent advancements and emerging evidence have led to a paradigm shift from bone-oriented implant placement to a more comprehensive reconstruction-oriented approach. However, as the popularity and indications for dental implant treatment continue to rise, so do the occurrences of complications. Complications associated with dental implants can be categorized as technical or biological, but it is the esthetic complications that patients perceive most prominently. These complications can arise at the restoration level, typically regarded as technical issues, or at the level of the soft tissues, which carry a biological significance. Among these esthetic complications, mucosal recession is the most common, occurring in 12% to 27% of cases in university settings. Factors contributing to mid-facial recession are commonly associated with the bucco-oral position of the implant and the soft-tissue phenotype. Therefore, accurate diagnosis and assessment are of paramount importance when managing esthetic complications around implants. Therefore, the objective of this lecture is to provide a comprehensive overview and present a decision tree encompassing different clinical scenarios and treatment modalities, enabling clinicians to effectively address esthetic complications and enhance the overall outcomes of dental implant treatment.

I am Miha Pirc, a specialist in periodontology and a resident in the fields of prosthodontics and implantology. In 2015, I graduated from the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, and had the opportunity to further my studies at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitat Munchen in Germany in 2014. After completing my degree, I gained valuable experience working in a private practice. However, my passion for further specialization led me back to the University of Ljubljana, where I embarked on a specialization program in periodontics. As an Osteology Foundation Scholar, I was fortunate to join the Department of Reconstructive Dentistry at the University of Zürich. Currently, I am pursuing a postgraduate program in prosthodontics and concurrently completing a master’s degree in implantology.