Soft Tissue Responses Around Nanostructured Calcium-phosphate-coated Implant Abutments on Dental Implants: Histological, Genetic and Clinical Evaluation in Smokers and Non-smokers.

• Baseline:

• Standard preparation of the osteotomy

• Placement of 2 dental implants

• On each implant one of both types of healing abutments is placed

• Suturing

• Standardized radiography to measure bone-levels at baseline

• Digital impression of the surrounding gingiva with an intra-oral scanner (a non-invasive method) to measure the baseline level of the gingiva

• 2 weeks after Baseline:

o Removal of the sutures

• 4 weeks after Baseline:

• A 2nd digital impression of the soft tissue with an intra-oral scanner

• Collecting crevicular fluid by placing paperpoints in the provided apertures in the healing abutments for 60 seconds without bleeding.

• Measuring of the pocket depth in the provided apertures in the healing abutments with an automated probe.

• Removal of the Healing Abutment with the attached soft tissue en-bloque.

• Placement of a new, regular, Encode Healing Abutment.

• 10 weeks after Baseline:

• Start of standard prosthetic procedure. In this study we expect that the soft tissue attachment (i.e. the gingival attachment) will be stronger and earlier achieved at the nano-structured healing abutments than at the normal, uncoated healing abutments. This would lead to a more stable soft tissue complex on the long rung and thus providing a more predictable aesthetic outcome. Secondly, a stronger attachment would mean a stronger barrier against micro-organisms and might influence the occurrence of peri-implantitis.