Use of the gingival unit transfer in soft tissue grafting: report of three cases

Current procedures in periodontal plastic surgery probe the limits of the copious blood supply available to the periodontal tissues. None reaches for these limits more consistently and meets with less forgiveness than soft tissue grafting for the interdental papilla and root coverage in esthetically sensitive areas. Gingiva contains the only soft tissue naturally created to survive and function interproximally and facially over avascular root surfaces. Preliminary results suggest that the supracrestal gingiva, used as a free graft for the above purposes, may have an uncommon capacity for perfusion and survival. More investigation is necessary to confirm the validity of this concept. The gingival unit transfer is introduced through three case reports that describe its use for root coverage and replacement of intact but pathologically involved or esthetically compromised papillae.