Treatment of a Soft Tissue Depression with a Xenograft Bone Substitute at the Second Stage of an Implant Procedure: A Case Report.

Following the extraction of a compromised tooth, the edentulous alveolar ridge undergoes physiologic bone remodeling, which may create a bone volume too deficient for implant placement. Guided bone regeneration (GBR) provides a predictable treatment option to increase the alveolar bone volume for implant placement, but a soft or hard tissue deficiency may remain even after this augmentation procedure has been completed. These deficiencies can be especially challenging in the esthetic zone, where patient expectations and esthetics often determine the satisfaction of the treatment outcome. This paper presents a case report of a xenograft bone substitute used at the second-stage surgery and abutment insertion to provide a solution to these deficiencies even after the patient had undergone a GBR procedure, thus improving the esthetic and functional outcomes of the final implant-supported restoration.