A new flapless technique for crown lengthening after orthodontic extrusion

Orthodontic extrusion (OE), which is performed in many different clinical situations to move a tooth or its periodontal tissues coronally, is often associated with supracrestal fiberotomy and root planing (OEFRP) or followed by surgical crown lengthening. The OEFRP procedure must be carried out every 2 weeks during the entire extrusive orthodontic phase, and precise control of the technique itself can be quite difficult, especially when this approach is to be performed on a limited portion of the root perimeter in teeth affected by angular defects. The aim of this study was to show a new nonsurgical crown-lengthening technique, performed shortly after the completion of OE, to simultaneously achieve proper hard and soft tissue architecture. Three different illustrative situations (periodontal pocket, root fracture, and root perforation) are described.