Treatment of gingival recessions using coronally advanced flap and connective tissue graft: a long-term retrospective analysis

The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate the long-term effectiveness of coronally advanced flap (CAF) in combination with connective tissue graft (CTG) in the treatment of gingival recessions. METHOD AND MATERIALS: Periodontal charts of 13 patients with single and multiple gingival recessions treated by means of CAF and CTG with a follow-up of 7 years were selected for the study. Full-mouth plaque score (FMPS), full-mouth bleeding score (FMBS), gingival recession depth (GRD), gingival recession width (GRW), height of keratin-ized gingiva (KG), probing depth (PD), and clinical attachment level (CAL) were assessed at baseline, and after 1 and 7 years of follow-up. Complete root coverage (CRC) was evaluated at 1 year and after 7 years of follow-up. A comparison of gingival recessions with or without non-carious cervical lesions (NCCL) was also performed. RESULTS: All clinical variables showed a significant improvement (P < .05) between baseline and after 7 years of follow-up. CRC was achieved in 69.2% and 53.8% of sites after 1 and 7 years of follow-up, respectively. The comparison between gingival recessions with and without NCCL did not show statistically significant differences (P > .05) in terms of all parameters. CONCLUSIONS: Within limits of the present study, the combination of CAF and CTG for the treatment of single and multiple recessions yielded positive outcomes in terms of GRD reduction and CRC after 7 years. These findings were independent of the presence of NCCLs.