Marginal bone level changes and soft-tissue esthetics around implants with convergent transmucosal profiles: 10-year retrospective analysis

Abstract

The aim of this retrospective study was to analyze the long-term stability of marginal bone levels (MBL) and the Pink Esthetic Score (PES) in a cohort of patients treated with tissue-level implants featuring a convergent transmucosal profile. A retrospective longitudinal analysis was conducted on 108 patients who received 193 implants with a specific convergent neck design and were followed for over 10 years. MBL was measured on digital periapical radiographs at baseline (loading), short-term (1–2 years), medium-term (3–6 years), and long-term (7–10 years) intervals. Esthetic outcomes were evaluated using the PES at the same time points comparing clinical photographs with reference teeth. Data were analyzed using repeated measures analysis of variance. MBL remained stable throughout the observation period, with mean values of 1.17 mm at short-term, 1.17 mm at medium-term, and 1.23 mm at long-term follow-up, showing no statistically significant changes over time (p = 0.454). Conversely, PES values demonstrated a statistically significant increasing trend (p < 0.001), improving from a baseline mean of 7.99 to 10.34 at the long-term evaluation. Significant improvements were noted between baseline and all subsequent time points. Within the limits of this retrospective study, tissue-level implants with a convergent transmucosal profile demonstrated stable marginal bone stability and a progressive improvement in soft tissue esthetics over a 10-year period. This specific convergent transmucosal geometry appears to favor positive peri-implant tissue adaptation and long-term stability.