Sofia Fuentes Carbone

Lately, the use of custom healing abutments has been advocated in order to preserve and maintain the mucogingival architecture. Description: A 60-year-old female patient, ASA I, presented with a non-rehabilitable residual root of tooth 3.5. A Cone Beam scan was requested for the area, which revealed an adequate amount of apical bone tissue, leading to the decision of performing an immediate implant placement. This was because the 3D positioning rules were respected, providing advantages for both the clinician and the patient. An atraumatic exodontia of the residual root was carried out, followed by alveolar conditioning. Subsequently, a Strauman BLX 3.5×10 mm implant was placed in the area, and the gap was filled with bovine Xenograft, Cerabone (Botiss). A connective tissue graft was taken from the palate to modify the gingival biotype. Then, a custom healing abutment (sealing socket abutment) was fabricated using a 2.5mm gingival height Variobase, immediately after surgery, with an optimal emergence profile, respecting the E, B, and C zones as described by Dr. Gómez Meda (2021). Conclusion: The immediate placement of a fully customized healing abutment appears to be a predictable approach to ensure proper sealing of the alveolus and maintenance of the regenerative space (Gonzalez 2020). This has significant biological benefits, such as mechanical stability of the clot in a confined space, dimensional stabilization of the mucogingival architecture, and guidance for proper cervical emergence (Finelle 2021).

Sofia Fuentes Carbone was born in Santiago, Chile, on April 18, 1993. She graduated as a Dental Surgeon from the Universidad Andrés Bello and is currently pursuing a specialization in Prosthodontics at the Universidad Autónoma de Chile. She is a professor in the Multidisciplinary Implantology diploma program at the Universidad Andrés Bello and conducts her private clinical practice at Clínica Valdivia. She has been a member of ITI since November 2022.