Soft tissue volume changes following gingival grafting for labial gingival recession in the mandibular anterior area: a case report

Abstract

This case report presents results for gingival recession coverage following gingival grafting and for gingival biotype enhancements by visualizing soft tissue volume changes using intraoral three-dimensional scanning. A 28 year old female patient with multiple gingival recessions and a 19 year old female patient with a single gingival recession on mandibular anterior area were treated. Root coverage was performed in both cases using autogenous subepithelial connective tissue harvested from palate. Intraoral 3D scan data were obatained presurgery and at 3 months, 1 year, and 2 years postsurgery. The recession areas were recovered successfully by subepithelial connective tissue graft combined with pedicle flap repositioning, and the patients showed neither further recurrence nor post-operative complication. Soft tissue biotype changes were identified by superimposing and analyzing scan data, revealing that gingival biotype was enhanced in both cases. These cases suggest that SCTG could be advantageous in terms of the gingival biotype enhancement, as well as gingival recession coverage, and intraoral 3D scanning might be suitable for assessing post-surgical gingival biotype change.