Flapless soft tissue punch technique for implant placement- A case report

Abstract

Management of edentulous spaces has been revolutionized by dental implants. Dental implant therapy has replaced most of the conventional methods of treating edentulous patients and has become a highly predictable treatment modality. More recently, the concept of flapless implant surgery has been introduced for patients with sufficient keratinized gingival tissue and bone volume in the implant recipient site. In a flapless procedure, a dental implant is installed through the mucosal tissues without reflecting a flap.This case report aims at treating a 42-years old systemically healthy female patient with an edentulous space in relation to 46 by flapless soft tissue punch technique. In this technique, the soft tissue at the surgical site is punched out using a soft tissue punch, followed by osteotomy and implant placement. The final restoration was done at the end of 4 months. Flapless soft tissue punch technique is an innovative minimally invasive method for management of edentulous spaces with sufficient bone width, height and keratinized gingiva, thereby leading to high patient compliance. The added advantage being minimal amount of crestal bone loss.