3D extraoral morphometric changes after implant surgery: an exploratory pilot study using stereophotogrammetry.

OBJECTIVE: This pilot study aimed to evaluate, for the first time, the changes in facial tissues following the placement of a single dental implant.

METHODS AND MATERIALS: Patients were scanned with a 3D facial scanner (3dMD) before implant surgery, immediately after surgery (T1), at 7 days post-operatively (T2), and at the impression stage (T3). Acquired images were processed using 3dMDVultus software program and volume differences and linear depth measurements were calculated to determine the morphometric changes over time. A total of 11 patients were included in the analyses. Descriptive statistics were employed to analyze the data.

RESULTS: The volumetric changes and maximum depth differences indicated an initial increase, followed by a progressive decrease in tissue volume after implant placement in the area of the surgery. The volume change values ranged between 2.5 to 3.9 cc for T1, whereas for T2, the volume change decreased to a range of 0.8 to 1.8 cc. Maximum depth differences ranged between 2.06 to 2.80 mm in the soft tissues right after the implant surgery and reduced to around 2.01 mm to 0.55 mm in the impression stage. The amount of painkiller used was not related to the magnitude of linear depth measurements at any assessed time point.

CONCLUSION: The results from this report documented that there is a longitudinal decrease in soft tissue volume and depth difference in extra-oral soft tissues in the region of implant placement after surgery to 6 weeks. The use of a facial scanner is a promising non-invasive method to monitor 3D morphometric changes after implant surgery.