Management of gingival recession by the use of an acellular dermal graft material: a 12-case series.

BACKGROUND

Different soft tissue defects can be treated by a variety of surgical procedures. Most of these techniques require the palatal area as a donor site. Recently, an acellular dermal graft has become available that can substitute for palatal donor tissue.

METHODS

This study describes the surgical technique for gingival augmentation and root coverage and the results of 12 clinical cases. A comparison between the three most popular mucogingival procedures for root coverage is also presented.

RESULTS

The results of the 12 patients and the 26 denuded surfaces have shown that we can obtain a mean root coverage of 74% with the acellular dermal graft. Thirteen out of the 26 denuded surfaces had complete root coverage. The average increase in keratinized tissue was 1.19 mm. It seems that the long-term results of the cases are stable.

CONCLUSION

The proposed technique of root coverage with an acellular dermal graft can be a good alternative to soft tissue grafts for root coverage, and it should be part of our periodontal plastic surgery armamentarium.