Abstract Peri‐implantitis can be explained using a multicausality model. Many factors are involved in the etiology of peri‐implantitis, but patient compliance also plays a key role. Oral hygiene, attending recall visits, smoking behavior, and therapy comprehension are relevant factors that contribute to peri‐implant health. The clinician should create the most optimal conditions for patients to facilitate adequate oral self‐care and to help patients improve their oral hygiene skills. Implementation of a supportive periodontal therapy program is mandatory to control inflammation and plaque accumulation, as well as to keep the incidence of peri‐implant diseases low. Patient compliance, including plaque control and dental follow‐up, must be optimal. Consequently, precautions must be taken with patients treated with dental implants.
To the best of our knowledge, the healing time for toothbrush-induced gingival abrasions in humans has not yet been explored. The aim of this study was to evaluate the time needed to heal for toothbrush-induced abrasions of the keratinized mucosa of the palate.In patients without, with mild periodontitis or with periodontitis, gingival abrasion lesions were induced at the keratinized mucosa of the palate by brushing up to 2 minutes. Healing as observed clinically was followed via calibrated digital photographs of the lesion after staining, every 24 hours until the lesion had resolved. In patients without or with only mild periodontitis, the healing time of lesions caused by 30 seconds and 1 minute of brushing was also recorded.Thirty-one participants (11 without or with mild periodontitis, 20 with periodontitis) met the inclusion criteria. In patients without or with mild periodontitis, the lesions induced by brushing for 2 minutes diminished by 48.7% of their original surface area within 24 hours. In patients with periodontitis the respective outcome was 45.4% (P = .87). Abrasions caused by 2 minutes of brushing needed more than 24 hours to heal completely. When decreasing the time exposed to trauma, fewer lesions were visible at baseline and the time needed to heal decreased. The subgroup of smokers was too small to evaluate any effect.The longer the exposure time of the keratinized mucosa of the palate to trauma, the more lesions were visible, the larger the abrasions were and the more time they needed to heal completely. More studies are needed to investigate the role of smoking, gingival biotype and to link these findings with gingival recessions.