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Updated: Jun 11, 2026

Measuring Oral Fatty Acid Thresholds, Fat Perception, Fatty Food Liking, and Papillae Density in Humans
Published on: June 4, 2014
Factors associated with the appearance of gingival papillae
Yiu Cheung Chow1, Robert M Eber, Yi-Pin Tsao
1Private practice, Toronto, Canada.
Aim:
The purpose of this study was to evaluate factors associated with the fill of inter-dental spaces by gingival papillae.
Materials And Methods:
Ninety-six adult subjects were evaluated. Papilla score (PS), tooth form/shape, interproximal contact length and gingival thickness were recorded for 672 maxillary anterior and first pre-molar interproximal sites. Statistical analyses included a non-parametric chi(2) test, anova, the Mixed Procedure for SAS and Pearson's correlation coefficient (r).
Results:
Papilla deficiency was more frequent in older subjects (p<0.05), as papilla height decreased 0.012 mm with each year of increasing age (p<0.05). Competent papillae (complete fill inter-dentally) were associated with: (1) crown width: length >or=0.87; (2) proximal contact length >or=2.8 mm; (3) bone crest-contact point
Conclusions:
Gingival papilla appearance was associated significantly with subject age, tooth form/shape, proximal contact length, crestal bone height and interproximal gingival thickness.
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