Comparison of Clinical and Esthetic Results of Different Techniques in the Treatment of Multiple Gingival Recessions.

OBJECTIVE

This clinical study aimed to compare the short-term (6-month) outcomes of root coverage using a subepithelial connective tissue graft with either a modified coronally advanced flap or the tunnel technique in the treatment of recession type I multiple gingival recessions.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

A total of 29 patients (9 males, 20 females) aged 19-59 years were included, with 68 gingival recession defects (24 in the mandible and 44 in the maxilla). Participants were divided into two groups: Group 1 (n = 14) received root coverage using a subepithelial connective tissue graft with the modified coronally advanced flap, while Group 2 (n = 15) was treated using the tunnel technique. Clinical and esthetic outcomes were assessed at 1 and 6 months postoperatively.

RESULTS

At the 6-month follow-up, no statistically significant differences were found between the groups in plaque index, gingival index, papilla height, papilla width, clinical attachment level, or probing depth (p > 0.05). While recession depth significantly decreased and keratinized gingival width increased in both groups (p < 0.05), no intergroup differences were observed (p > 0.05). Mean root coverage was 54.26% ± 29.5% in Group 1 and 63% ± 36% in Group 2 (p > 0.05). Esthetic outcomes were evaluated using the Root Coverage Esthetic Score (RES), with mean scores of 6.41 ± 2.02 in Group 1 and 6.94 ± 2.09 in Group 2; no significant difference was observed between the groups (p > 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Within the study's limitations, both surgical techniques yielded comparable clinical and esthetic outcomes at 6 months.

CLINICAL CONSIDERATIONS: In this study, the clinical and esthetic outcomes of treating patients with multiple gingival recession defects using a subepithelial connective tissue graft with either the modified coronally advanced flap technique or the tunnel technique were compared. The results demonstrated that both techniques achieved successful outcomes.

TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT06509165.