Background: The health of peri-implant soft tissues is one of the most important aspects of osseointegration necessary for the long-term survival of dental implants.
Purpose: To review the process of soft tissue healing around osseointegrated implants and discuss the maintenance requirements as well as the possible short-comings of peri-implant soft tissue integration.
Materials and methods: Literature search on the process involved in osseointegration, soft tissue healing and currently available treatment modalities was performed and a brief description of each process was provided.
Results: The peri-implant interface has been shown to be less effective than natural teeth in resisting bacterial invasion because gingival fiber alignment and reduced vascular supply make it more vulnerable to subsequent peri-implant disease and future bone loss around implants. And we summarized common procedures which have been shown to be effective in preventing peri-implantitis disease progression as well as clinical techniques utilized to regenerate soft tissues with bone loss in advanced cases of peri-implantitis.
Conclusion: Due to the difference between peri-implant interface and natural teeth, clinicians and patients should pay more attention in the maintenance and recovery of soft tissues around implants.
Keywords: osseointegration; peri-implant soft tissue; peri-implantitis; peri-mucositis.
© 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.