Peri-implant Mucosal Changes Over Time Following Implant Provisional Removal in the Esthetic Zone

The study will examine the temporary volumetric change that happens in the gums around an implant crown when the crown is removed. The main question of the study is "how much time has to pass to see a significant change, especially when there could be a need to make a mold of the surrounding gum to make a new crown?"

The area of the implant crown will be scanned with an intra-oral scanner over a period of 15 minutes.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Tooth Loss; Implant Site Reaction
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: intraoral scan

Detailed Description

When an implant crown is removed, the gum in the area, usually supported by the crown, might go through temporary changes once that support is gone. While the change itself may be temporary, some ways to make a final crown that would be esthetically pleasing might require making a copy of the temporary crown or a mold of the gum around the crown.

This study will involve the removal of an implant crown at a site where a failing tooth was removed, and a dental implant and a crown was placed into the extraction socket. Once the subject enrolls in the study, the area of the implant crown will be scanned right after the removal of the implant crown, and 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 10, and 15 minutes after the removal of the crown. In order to record the exact location of the implant, a tag will be placed onto the implant and the tag will be scanned as well. The subject's crown will be also scanned so that all the data can be overlaid on top of each other to assess the actual change that occurs. After, the crown will be re-inserted in the patient's mouth so that the gum can rebound back to its original shape.

If the patient is able to return in the near future for a new crown, the patient will be asked to make one final scan of the mouth to see if there is any changes in the gums between that of the old and the new crown. This will show if the shape of the crown under the gums might have an effect on how the gums might look.

The study will look into whether an immediate change might happen, and how much change actually takes place over the 15 minutes, in whichever direction it might happen.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Estimated): 34

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Ji Yeon Chung, DDS; Phone Number: 9095584983; Email: jichung@students.llu.edu

Study Locations

• United States
  • California
    • Loma Linda, California, United States, 92350
      • Recruiting
      • Loma Linda University - Center of Implant Dentistry
      • Contact: Center of Implant Dentistry; Phone Number: 909-558-4983; Email: jichung@students.llu.edu

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

• Sampling Method: Probability Sample

Study Population

Patients selected for the participation in the study will be solely from the Center of Implant Dentistry at Loma Linda University School of Dentistry.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patient must have a maxillary anterior immediate implant and provisionalization treatment completed.
• The adjacent tooth next to the implant should be a natural tooth
• The temporary crown must have been in place for a minimum of 4 months
• The patient needs to be of general good health, with no significant medical history or social habits that might directly affect the hard and soft tissue
• Patient must have generally good oral hygiene without any history of gum disease or gum recession of other teeth around the region of interest

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patient with an implant crown that has no teeth next to the implant crown
• Patients who have an active gum disease

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Peri-implant mucosal volumetric change	The mucosal volumetric change will be a composite measurement of the outside and inside portion of the peri-implant gum area by a 3D analyzing software. The 3D image that has been captured from an intra-oral scan will be analyzed during the time interval mentioned in the study description. This measurement is representing the horizontal change, and will be recorded in millimeters (mm). The critical analysis will be placed as changes from 0.5mm. Any change more than 0.5mm will be considered a large amount of change.	Change between baseline and 15 minutes post initial crown removal

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Vertical gingival margin discrepancy	This is the composite measure of the coronal-apical shift of the crown margin once the crown is removed. This would be the vertical change happening when you are looking straight at the subject. The vertical height will be measured from the actual crown margin to the resulting crown margin following crown removal, and the measurement will be recorded as millimeters (mm.) Any change more than 0.5mm will be considered a significant change.	Change between baseline and 15 minutes post initial crown removal

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Loma Linda University
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Joseph Kan, DDS, MS, Loma Linda University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): April 24, 2024
• Primary Completion (Estimated): December 1, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: January 14, 2025
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 14, 2025
• First Posted (Actual): January 20, 2025

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): February 20, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 18, 2026
• Last Verified: February 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: immediate implant placement; provisional; impression
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Periodontal Diseases; Mouth Diseases; Stomatognathic Diseases; Tooth Diseases; Tooth Loss
• Other Study ID Numbers: 5230566

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No