Cultured gingival epithelium. A possible suitable material for pre-prosthetic surgery.

In cultivating gingival epithelium from people up to the age of 66 years it is possible to gain a differentiated mucosal tissue sheet that is more than 100 times the size of the original biopsy surface. The morphological characteristics are a prickle cell layer with polygonal cells and a basal cell layer with flattened cells. Desmosomes, tonofibrils and microplicae at the superficial side of the epithelium are typical features. There is a cell biological differentiation as the distinct binding of lectins and of a cytokeratin antibody proves. The multiplication in surface area, the possibility of using cells of senior patients and the morphological and cell biological differentiation of cultured gingival epithelium are advantages in its application for the autologous bridging of intraoral defects.