From different perspectives, implant surgery can be classified in several different ways. The basic classification of implant surgery is summarized as follows.
1. According to different operation time, implant surgery can be divided into three types: immediate implantation, early implantation and delayed implantation.
(1) Immediate implantation: implant is implanted immediately after tooth extraction. In this case, bone grafting technology is often needed to eliminate the gap between the implant and the surrounding bone tissue.
(2) Early implantation: implant implantation is carried out within 4-6 weeks after tooth extraction, characterized by soft tissue healing and incomplete bone healing.
According to the healing degree of bone tissue in the tooth extraction socket, it can be subdivided into two stages: 4-8 weeks and 12-16 weeks.
During 4-8 weeks, there is no obvious bone healing and secondary bone resorption. At this time, implantation can avoid the reduction of alveolar ridge width caused by alveolar bone resorption after tooth extraction, and it is suitable for aesthetic area implantation.
Between 12 and 16 weeks, not only has the soft tissue healed completely, but the bone tissue has also undergone significant healing and preliminary remodeling, at which point the new bone fills the alveolar socket and is suitable for implantation in non-aesthetic areas.
(3) Delayed implantation: implant implantation is performed 6 months after tooth extraction, when the tooth socket has been completely healed and preliminary reconstruction has been completed.
2. According to the operation and the healing mode of the implant, the implant surgery can be divided into two types: non-embedded surgery and embedded surgery.
(1) Non-embedded surgery: It refers to the surgical method in which the implant is implanted into the alveolar bone and exposed to the mouth directly or indirectly through the soft tissue through the healing cap. This type of surgery can also be called non-embedded surgery or gingival surgery.
The non-embedded version requires only a one-stage operation.
Implants are exposed to the mouth directly or indirectly through the healing cap through the soft tissue after implantation.
This procedure does not require a second operation to expose the implant.
Soft tissue horizontal implants are often used in non-embedded surgery.
(2) Embedded surgery:
It refers to a surgical method in which the implant is completely embedded under the soft tissue without exposure to the oral cavity after being implanted into the alveolar bone. This method can also be called diving or non-penetrating surgery. The embedded surgery requires two stages of surgery.
After the completion of osseointegration of the implant, the healing abutment through the mucosa was placed on the implant platform for the second operation to achieve soft tissue healing.
Horizontal bone implantation is usually used in embedded surgery.
In the second stage of surgery, the healing abutment through the gingival mucosa was placed on the implant platform to achieve soft tissue healing.
There is no fundamental difference between the basic principles and procedures of non-embedded surgery and embedded surgery, and there is no advantage or disadvantage between them. The difference is whether the implant is exposed in the mouth during the operation.
