Coronally Advanced Flap With Connective Tissue Graft For Treating Orthodontic-Associated Miller Class III Gingival Recession of The Lower Incisors: A One-Year Retrospective Study
Abstract Aims To assess the clinical outcome (after one year) of coronally advanced flap combined with connective tissue graft for the treatment of orthodontic-associated Miller Class III gingival recession of the lower incisors. Materials and methods This study included 15 patients who had undergone orthodontic treatment prior to development of recession. Measurements of recession depth, recession width, probing depth, and width of keratinized tissue were performed clinically immediately before surgery and after one year. In addition, digital measurements of recession depth, recession width, and root coverage esthetic score were performed on intraoral photographs. Results Significant reduction was observed for probing depth, recession depth, and recession width at one year, with significant increase in width of keratinized tissue. Mean root coverage was 83 ± 24% for recession depth, while complete root coverage was achieved in 10 out of 21 recessions (48%). The average root coverage esthetic score at 12 months was 7.1 ± 2.6. An interaction was found between initial recession depth and mean root coverage. Conclusions Within the limitations of this study, our results confirm that combination of coronally advanced flap and connective tissue graft is effective in reducing post-orthodontic Miller Class III recessions of the mandibular incisors with a concomitant increase in width of keratinized tissue. Clinical Relevance These findings suggest that combination of coronally advanced flap with connective tissue graft may significantly improve post-orthodontic Miller Class III recessions of the mandibular incisors, even when the correction of the tooth malposition is unattainable.