Implant Emergence Angles Above 30 Degrees Linked to Peri-Implantitis

Edited by Dentaltown staff

Dental implants restored with emergence angles wider than 30 degrees were independently associated with peri-implantitis, according to a cross-sectional study published Sept. 26 in BMC Oral Health.

Researchers evaluated 213 implants in 88 patients, ages 18 to 70, treated at the Division of Periodontology of the Faculty of Dentistry at Bolu Abant Izzet Baysal University in Türkiye. Every implant had been in function with its definitive restoration for one to five years.

Peri-implant status was classified under the 2017 AAP/EFP World Workshop criteria. Investigators also recorded gingival thickness, gingival phenotype, keratinized gingival width, and emergence angle.

Emergence angle differed significantly among healthy implants, implants with peri-implant mucositis, and implants with peri-implantitis (P = .001). The peri-implantitis group had the widest angles.

Implants with emergence angles above 30 degrees were independently associated with greater probing depth, clinical attachment level, and gingival index, along with a borderline increase in bleeding on probing. After adjustment for peri-implant soft tissue characteristics and plaque accumulation, emergence angle was the only factor independently associated with peri-implantitis.

The authors concluded that patients whose implants have emergence angles above 30 degrees are significantly more associated with peri-implantitis, and they called for further study of the relationship between emergence angle and peri-implant tissue condition.

Tugba Sahin and Okan Boncukçu conducted the study, which was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov. The authors reported no funding and no competing interests.

Because the design was cross-sectional and drawn from a single center, the findings establish an association between wider emergence angles and peri-implantitis rather than showing that prosthetic contour caused the disease.

Sources:
BMC Oral Health, “Implant prosthetic emergence angle and its association with peri-implant health and disease,” published online Sept. 26, 2026: link.springer.com/10.1186/s12903-026-10028-8