Mandibular Deep Single Gingival Recession Treatment: Effect of Radiographic Hard Tissue Parameters on Root Coverage....

This prospective case series evaluated whether hard tissue radiographic parameters influence treatment outcomes of deep mandibular gingival recessions (≥5 mm) treated with connective tissue grafts (CTG) using either a double-papilla envelope (DPE) or lateral sliding flap (LSF).

Fifteen patients received CTG+DPE (n=7) or CTG+LSF (n=8). Clinical parameters-recession depth (RD), root coverage (RC), complete root coverage (CRC), and keratinized tissue width (KT)-were measured at baseline and 12 months. Pre-treatment CBCT scans assessed root width, mesiodistal root circumference, buccal prominence, and interproximal distance to correlate with outcomes.

No significant differences in clinical outcomes were found between flap designs. When data were pooled, RD significantly decreased from 6.8±1.7 mm to 0.9±0.9 mm (RC=85.8%, p<0.05), and KT increased from 0.1±0.3 mm to 3.6±1.5 mm (p<0.05). Greater baseline RD correlated with more RD reduction (p<0.05). However, none of the radiographic parameters showed significant correlation with root coverage outcomes. RT1 defects achieved 93% of root coverage while RT2 defects achieved 77.6% (p=0.06).

Within study limitations, the examined radiographic parameters did not affect outcomes. Deep mandibular gingival recessions can be effectively treated using either CTG+DPE or CTG+LSF.