Duration: 113 min.
What is this about?
- Insights from leading clinicians on the evolution of immediate implant placement
- Practical lessons on biology, prosthetic planning, and implant design
- Key takeaways on patient selection, surface technology, and treatment predictability
Topic summary: Recent advancements in immediate dental implant protocols have garnered considerable interest for their ability to shorten treatment time and preserve vital tissues. These protocols have demonstrated high success and survival rates, effectively facilitating predictable aesthetic outcomes. Biological factors play a crucial role in enhancing the results of immediate implants. A deep understanding of the biology of hard and soft tissues is instrumental in improving osseointegration and the overall treatment outcome. By integrating biological insights with profound expertise in advanced materials, digital technologies, and prosthetics, this industry forum aims to equip dental professionals with the knowledge needed to decrease treatment times, enhance patient comfort, and achieve optimal esthetic results.
Understanding the biological foundation
The forum opened with the reminder that immediacy in implantology was not just about speed but about respecting biology. Professor Ronald Jung emphasized that long-term success depends less on surgical technique alone and more on careful case selection and understanding cellular behavior. He presented a 25-year follow-up case, showing how thick tissue biotype and augmentation outside the bony envelope enabled stability despite limited early knowledge. The message was clear: biology dictates outcomes, and success lays in predicting where biology supports, and where it resists, immediacy.
Prosthetic planning as a cornerstone
The prosthetic perspective highlighted that patients come for teeth, not implants. Kevser Pala explained that prosthetic decisions have to be made before extraction, integrating placement timing and loading protocol. Immediate temporization can reduce tissue collapse, but only when risk assessments confirm stability. The design of the emergence profile –concave subcritical contour and supportive critical contour – directly influenced recession risk and soft tissue behavior. Her evidence-based approach showed that planning abutment height, angulation, and restorative design from the start ensure esthetics and biology works together, not against each other.
Tools, surfaces, and digital workflows
Shakeel Shahdad, Leon Pariente, and Karim Dada focused on tools, surfaces, and workflows that enhance predictability. Hydrophilic surfaces like Straumann SLActive® accelerate osseointegration and improve defect healing, while implant design impact stability and longevity. Digital tools – static or dynamic guidance, intraoral scanners, and AI-driven smile design – help clinicians transfer plans into precise execution. Yet, case selection remains non-negotiable: presence of a buccal plate, proper root position, and soft tissue quality are prerequisites. The consistent theme was that immediacy succeeds when innovation is balanced with biological evidence and careful planning.
Key takeaways
- Biology first: long-term success depends on case selection and respecting cellular healing processes.
- Prosthetics guide biology: emergence profile design, abutment choice, and loading protocol must be planned upfront.
- Tools support, not replace judgment: implant surfaces, guided surgery, and digital workflows improve predictability, but only within strict patient selection criteria.