Clinical Evaluation of Semilunar Coronally Positioned Flap in Conjunction with Free Gingival Graft for Root Coverage (A Case Series)

Background and aim. Gingival recession as the apical migration of the gingival margin that results in exposure of the cementoenamel junction (CEJ) and the root surface. In this case series we aimed to demonstrate a combination technique using semilunar coronally positioned flap with free gingival graft for root coverage. Materials and methods. A total of 12 healthy subjects, 25-45 years of age, with gingival Miller’s Class I gingival recessions in maxillary incisor or premolar area were recruited for study. A semilunar incision was made in mucogingival junction following the curvature of the receded gingival margin. A sulcular split-thickness incision was made in a coronal direction so that it reached the semilunar incision and advanced as coronally. The denuded area was covered by a free gingival graft (FGG). Longitudinal alterations during a follow-up period of 1, 3 and six months in terms of pocket depth (PD), Recession width (RW), Recession height (RH), Width of keratinized tissue (KT) and Clinical attachment level(CAL) were tested by repeated measures analysis of variance Results. A comparison between baseline and the 1, 3 and 6 months clinical outcomes of patients revealed statistically significant changes from baseline were found for pocket probing depth (p 0.0001). Six months evaluation revealed that recession width and height decreased significantly compared to baseline levels (p 0.0001). A significant increase in width of keratinized gingiva and clinical attachment level gain at the sixth month evaluation (p 0.0001). Conclusion. Combination of semilunar coronally positioned flap with free gingival graft met a significant clinical outcomes for root coverage.