Significance of keratinized tissue assessment in implant therapy

The success of implant therapy is reliant on the precise, restoratively driven placement of dental implants in the oral cavity. Often, the native sites for implant placement demonstrate inadequate hard and soft tissue. Although bone augmentation techniques and materials have been extensively studied in the literature to obtain adequate hard tissue at proposed implant sites, only few publications have focused on the importance of soft tissue assessment and development. In the last few years, there has been a growing body of evidence suggesting the importance of keratinized tissue around dental implants. This paper reviewed the available literature on the importance of keratinized tissue assessment for implant based treatment. Several systematic reviews demonstrated that keratinized tissues may play a role in maintaining implant health and ensure a better prognosis for the final prosthesis. Soft tissue assessment at proposed implant sites needs to be prioritized at the time of clinical assessment and treatment planning. Such an approach would improve the predictability of implant restorations in terms of long-term maintenance.