2.4. Study Outcomes

To clinically evaluate the soft tissues, the FIPS was used. The said score is defined by five variables: (1) interproximal, (2) occlusion, (3) design, (4) mucosa, and (5) bone. A scoring scheme of 0 – 1 – 2 was assigned for each aforementioned variable, resulting in a maximum score of ten (5 × 2) per implant reconstruction.

After crown insertion, a questionnaire for the assessment of perceived pain was submitted to each patient. Each form contained the numerical rating scale (NRS), which consists of the personal evaluation of pain on a scale from 1 to 10 (one is the minimum pain and ten is the maximum pain) [10]. The questionnaire was proposed at three different study periods, namely at crown insertion (baseline), and after 2 and 24 h.

All FIPS measurements were collected by an independent examiner blinded to the type of evaluation in order to limit bias.

The same clinician that performed both surgical and prosthetic procedures, collected the NRS scores. The values were statistically evaluated using the non-parametric Wilcoxon sum rank test for unpaired samples.