Root coverage of large localized gingival recession: a biometric study

With the objective of obtaining root coverage in areas of large localized gingival recessions, 16 cases of localized gingival recessions varying from 3.5 to 10 mm (total recession) were treated with a coronally positioned gingival autograft in conjunction with mechanical (root planing) and chemical (saturated citric acid) treatment of the exposed root surfaces. Changes in sulcus depth, percentage of root coverage, and gain in attached gingiva were observed over the course of a 6-month period. The results showed no significant change in sulcus depth, coverage of 72.17% of the exposed root surfaces, and a gain of 3.0 +/- 1.4 mm in attached gingiva in areas where little or no attached gingiva had existed prior to treatment. A positive correlation between the bone level and total visible recession before treatment was also demonstrated. We conclude that the coronally positioned gingival autograft is a highly predictable surgical technique for the treatment of large localized gingival recessions.