Does Keratinized Mucosa Really Matter?

The 2 mm band around your implants — what it does, what it doesn't, and when to graft it.

By Dr. Jonathan Misch, DDS, MS · Aug 12, 2026 · 2 min read

Few peri-implant questions get argued more than this one: how much keratinized mucosa (KM) does an implant actually need? For years the answer was a confident "two millimeters." Then a wave of studies pushed back and the number started to look arbitrary. The pendulum has settled somewhere more useful — and more practical. Here's where …