Method and apparatus for recording spatial gingival soft tissue relationship to implant placement within alveolar bone for immediate-implant placement

A soft tissue preservation, dental implant arrangement, comprising:

• a hollow shell (10) with an interior volume and a shell axis (12), the hollow shell having an outer surface for engaging a soft tissue socket that is left in gingival tissue immediately after a tooth has been extracted from a bone socket under the gingival tissue, the shell having a first perimeter (16) adapted for placement toward the bone socket and a second perimeter (18) adapted for placement adjacent an outer surface of the gingival tissue around the soft tissue socket, the first perimeter being smaller than the second perimeter so that the shell tapers outwardly from the first to the second perimeters, the second perimeter being asymmetrically scalloped with opposite distal and mesial peaks (20, 22) and opposite lingual and facial valleys (24, 26) between the peaks, and the shell being sized for closely engaging against the soft tissue socket without gaps;
• a dental implant (30) having an implant axis (32) and being adapted for placement in the bone socket;
• and
• a temporary post (40) rigidly connected to and coaxial with the dental implant, the temporary post extending in the interior volume of the hollow shell, a minimum inside diameter of the hollow shell (10) being larger than a maximum outside diameter of the post and no part of the shell being in contact with any part of the post despite non-alignment of the shell axis (12) with the implant axis (32) and so the shell is at its own position and orientation as dictated by the soft tissue socket and has an independent position with respect to the post that is at its own orientation as dictated by the boney socket when the outer surface of the shell engages against the soft tissue socket without gaps and without requiring alignment of the shell axis (12) to the implant axes (32) and with freedom of relative position and angle between the shell and the post.