The effects of the inverse bevel flap procedure on gingival contour and plaque accumulation

Periodontal surgery should eliminate disease and produce a good gingival contour to allow ease of cleaning and maintenance. An important factor in the achievement of these aims may be the contour of the attached gingiva following surgery. At present, gingival contour is evaluated by one of two indices. A new disease-related gingival contour index was designed and compared with existing indices (plaque index, periodontal index, sulcus bleeding index) following inverse bevel flap procedures. The results demonstrated that there was a statistically significant increase in the scores for gingival contour (p less than 0.001) a significant decrease in scores for the periodontal index (p less than 0.001) and sulcus bleeding index (p less than 0.05), but no change in the amounts of plaque accumulating (p greater than 0.7).