Evaluation of root coverage with two connective tissue grafts obtained from the same location

Area of Science:

• Periodontology
• Regenerative Dentistry
• Oral Surgery

Background:

• Connective tissue grafts (CTGs) are widely used for root coverage in periodontal plastic surgery.
• Assessing the impact of sequential graft harvesting from the same donor site on clinical outcomes is crucial for optimizing treatment.
• Understanding factors influencing graft success can improve patient care and surgical predictability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the clinical root coverage achieved using two CTGs harvested sequentially from the same donor area.
• To evaluate the efficacy of subepithelial CTG placement for treating gingival recession.
• To determine if patient-specific factors or surgical timing influence root coverage outcomes.

Main Methods:

• Sixty patients with paired connective tissue grafts (first and second harvests from the same donor site) were included.
• Subepithelial grafts were utilized for root coverage procedures.
• Clinical parameters including recession, probing depth, keratinized tissue width, and attachment level were measured before and after surgery.

Main Results:

• Both first and second CTGs resulted in statistically significant improvements in all measured clinical parameters.
• No statistically significant differences were observed in clinical changes between the first and second CTGs, except for the mean root coverage percentage.
• The second CTG achieved a statistically significant higher mean root coverage (98.2%) compared to the first CTG (95.4%).

Conclusions:

• Sequential harvesting of connective tissue grafts from the same donor site is effective for root coverage.
• The second connective tissue graft demonstrated superior mean root coverage compared to the first.
• Patient factors such as sex, age, smoking history, and time between surgeries did not significantly impact the obtained root coverage.