Epithelial thickness of the palatal mucosa: a histomorphometric study in Koreans

Subepithelial connective tissue grafting (SCTG) is a frequently used method in the field of periodontal plastic surgery. There are relatively few reports defining epithelial thickness criteria for palatal mucosal SCTG. The aim of this study was to histologically measure the epithelial thickness of the palatal mucosa in a sample of Korean patients, with the goal of minimizing epithelium-associated complications after root coverage procedures. A total of 30 Korean patients (12 males and 18 females) were enrolled in this study. To measure epithelial thicknesses, palatal mucosa adjacent to premolars and molars was obtained during procurement of SCTG. The effects of donor site, age and gender on the thickness of the epithelium were assessed and compared by histomorphometric analysis. The mean epithelial thickness of the palatal mucosa in our 30 patients was 430.63 μm, ranging from 113 to 823 μm. Epithelial thickness was not associated with donor site or age, but there were significant differences between genders, with males having much thicker palates than females.