Thickness of masticatory mucosa in the human hard palate and tuberosity dependent on gender and body mass index.

The aim of this study was to clinically determine the thickness of masticatory mucosa in the hard palate and tuberosity as potential donor sites for subepitelial grafts for ridge augmentation procedures of small and moderate alveolar ridge defects to improve aesthetics of a pontic area of fixed partial dentures. In 102 periodontally healthy fully dentate subjects the thickness of mucosa was assessed by bone sounding with a periodontal probe. Twenty measurement points were defined, 18 on hard palate located on 3 lines running at different distances parallel to gingival margin and 2 on tuberosity. Data were analysed to determine differences between gender and different body mass index using t-test. The mucosa on the hard palate was significantly thicker than on the tuberosity. The thickest mucosa was registered on the second and the third line behind canines and on all 3 lines behind the first premolar. These areas are recommended as potential donor sites. Males had significantly thicker mucosa than females (p < 0.01), except for the sites behind the first molar (p > 0.05) where the mucosa was the thinnest in the both gender, which was attributed to the protuberance of the palatal root of the first molar. The same was with the body mass index. Therefore canine-premolar palatal region is recommended for harvesting free subepitelial grafts for moderate augmentation of alveolar ridges for achieving optimal aesthetics of the pontic area.