Esthetic and dimensional evaluation of free connective tissue grafts in prosthetically treated patients: a 1-year clinical study.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to evaluate the predictability of the free connective tissue graft in prosthetically treated patients needing gingival augmentation. The following outcome variables were studied 1) dimensional changes of free connective gingival grafts; 2) color blending with adjacent tissues; and 3) periodontal and marginal health status, when compared to a non-surgical control group.
METHODS: Two groups of patients without periodontitis were investigated. The test group (group A) consisted of 16 patients. The inclusion criteria for surgical correction were: 1) at least 1 site lacking (<1 mm) keratinized tissue and/or lacking vestibular depth; 2) insufficient plaque control; and 3) the selected site was scheduled to undergo or had already received a fixed prosthetic restoration. The control group (group B) included 14 patients with the same inclusion criteria, but declining to undergo surgery. Group A patients were treated with a free connective tissue graft to augment the keratinized tissue at the selected sites. The size of the graft was recorded at baseline (surgical intervention) and the width of keratinized tissue was measured at 1, 4, 26, and 52 weeks. Gingival inflammation and plaque accumulation were assessed at baseline and 52 weeks in both groups. Probing depth and clinical attachment levels were recorded at baseline and 26 and 52 weeks in both groups. Evaluation of the esthetic results was carried out at the end of the study. All patients in both groups received oral hygiene instructions and supragingival plaque and calculus removal before and at the end of the investigation.
RESULTS: In group A, the results showed a mean amount of keratinized tissue of 5.81 +/- 1.42 mm at 26 weeks and 5.25 +/- 1.34 mm at 52 weeks. Mean shrinkage of the graft was 10.2% (P = 0.001) at 1 week, 28.4% (P = 0.0004) at 4 weeks, 37.2% (P = 0.0004) at 26 weeks, and 43.25% (P = 0.0004) at 52 weeks. All the dimensional changes were statistically significant, when compared to baseline. Evaluation of color blending with the surrounding gingiva demonstrated an "excellent result" at 52 weeks with an 87.5% agreement among the three masked examiners. In the test group, the periodontal indices improved or remained stable; in the control group, there was a minor improvement of the indices, with three patients showing a worse gingival inflammation score and two a worse plaque score.
CONCLUSION: Although these results are not conclusive, mostly due to a lack of a large enough sample population, the statistically significant results shown in this investigation tend to support the use of gingival augmentation procedures in prosthetic patients with insufficient keratinized gingiva and/or shallow or absent vestibules, when they cannot demonstrate adequate plaque control.