Do immediately placed implants have better outcomes when placed with a minimal split-thickness envelope flap?

Design Randomised, controlled, single-blind, single-centre clinical trial.Case selection Adult patients in need of a single tooth extraction in the anterior maxillary and premolar region. Full mouth plaque scores below 25% and bleeding scores below 10%, with no active periodontal disease. As assessed by cone beam computed tomography; intact buccal plate, adequate mesiodistal space and adequate quality of bone.Data analysis Patients had immediate implant placement following extraction, either with a flap with no vertical releasing incision (control group) or a minimal split-thickness envelope flap (test group). The trial compared clinical, radiographic, aesthetic and patient-reported outcomes of immediately placed implants. Primary outcomes were measured using the pink (PES) and white (WES) aesthetic score. JMP Pro 13 was the statistical software used. Statistical comparisons were conducted at a 0.05 level of significance.Results In total, 28 patients were enrolled in the study, after exclusions. The total PES and WES scores were similar in the control and test groups. Implant survival and success rate after 12 months was 100%. Buccal plate thickness at 12 months post-loading was 2.78 mm in the control group and 2.54 mm in the test group, so there was no statistically significant difference between them. The majority of patients in both groups responded as 'positive' in the patient satisfaction questionnaire and visual analogue scale.Conclusions When comparing PES/WES scores, success/modified success rate, survival, mean buccal plate resorption and patient satisfaction, there were no differences between immediate implants placed with a flap or with a minimal split-thickness envelope flap.