The importance of soft tissue condition in bone regenerative procedures to ensure long-term peri-implant health.

Bone regenerative procedures have been widely proved to be a reliable treatment option to re-create the ideal pre-implant clinical conditions. Nevertheless, these techniques are not free from post-operative complications which might result in implant failure. Consequently, as demonstrated by the increasing recently published evidence, a careful pre- and intra-operative flap evaluation to ensure an ideal and hermetic tension-free wound closure is of paramount importance to successfully treat bony defects. In this respect, several surgical interventions mainly aimed to increase the amount of keratinized mucosa either to allow an optimal healing after a reconstructive procedure or to establish an optimal peri-implant soft tissue seal have been proposed. The present review summarizes the level of evidence on the surgical clinical aspects which have an impact on the soft tissue handling associated with bone reconstructive procedures and on the importance of soft tissue conditions to enhance and maintain peri-implant health in the long-term

The Severity of Human Peri-Implantitis Lesions Correlates with the Level of Submucosal Microbial Dysbiosis

AIM To cross-sectionally analyse the submucosal microbiome of peri-implantitis (PI) lesions at different severity levels. MATERIALS AND METHODS Microbial signatures of 45 submucosal plaque samples from untreated PI lesions obtained from 30 non-smoking, systemically healthy subjects were assessed by 16s sequencing. Linear mixed models were used to identify taxa with differential abundance by probing depth, after correction for age, gender, and multiple samples per subject. Network analyses were performed to identify groups of taxa with mutual occurrence or exclusion. Subsequently, the effects of peri-implant probing depth on submucosal microbial dysbiosis were calculated using the microbial dysbiosis index. RESULTS In total, we identified 337 different taxa in the submucosal microbiome of PI. Total abundance of 12 taxa correlated significantly with increasing probing depth; a significant relationship with lower probing depth was found for 16 taxa. Network analysis identified two mutually exclusive complexes associated with shallow pockets and deeper pockets, respectively. Deeper peri-implant pockets were associated with significantly increased dysbiosis. CONCLUSION Increases in peri-implant pocket depth are associated with substantial changes in the submucosal microbiome and increasing levels of dysbiosis

Arterial Stiffness and Pulse Wave Reflection Are Increased in Patients Suffering from Severe Periodontitis

Aim: This single blind cross-sectional study compared the vascular health of subjects suffering from severe chronic periodontitis, severe aggressive periodontitis and periodontal healthy controls by evaluating pulse wave velocity (PWV), augmentation index (AIx) and pulse pressure amplification (PPA). Material and Methods: In a total of 158 subjects, 92 suffering from severe periodontitis and 66 matched periodontal healthy controls, PWV, AIx, central and peripheral blood pressure were recorded using an oscillometric device (Arteriograph). Results: Subjects suffering from severe chronic or aggressive periodontitis exhibited significantly higher PWV (p = 0.00004), higher AIx (p = 0.0049) and lower PPA (p = 0.028) than matched periodontal healthy controls. Conclusions: The results of this study confirm the association between periodontal inflammation and increased cardiovascular risk shown by impaired vascular health in case of severe periodontitis. As impaired vascular health is a common finding in patients suffering from severe periodontal disease a concomitant routine cardiovascular evaluation may be advised