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Volume 39 , Issue 6
November/December 2019
Pages e203–e210

Graftless Tunnel Technique for the Treatment of Multiple Gingival Recessions in Sites with Thick or Very Thick Biotype: A Prospective Case Series

Giulio Rasperini, DDS/Michele Codari, DDS/Enrico Limiroli, DDS/Raffaele Acunzo, DDS/Lorenzo Tavelli, DDS/Ausra Znamenskaite Levickiene, DDS

PMID: 31613943
DOI: 10.11607/prd.4134

Tunnel (TUN) technique is normally performed in combination with soft tissue grafts, either autogenous connective tissue graft (CTG) or substitutes, regardless of a patient’s biotype. The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of graftless TUN in the treatment of multiple gingival recessions (GRs) characterized by thick or very thick biotype. Twenty-seven GRs were treated in seven patients using graftless TUN. At 6-month postoperative evaluations, the mean root coverage (mRC) was 84.57% ± 31.1%, while complete root coverage (CRC) was achieved in 77.8% of treated GR sites and in six out of seven patients. On average, the esthetic evaluation performed using the root coverage esthetic score (RES) resulted in a final score of 9.1 ± 1.4. Sixteen sites achieved the maximum RES score, and in six patients, an RES ≥ 9 was observed in all sites. Graftless TUN showed predictable root coverage and improved esthetics in treating GRs in patients with a thick or very thick biotype. Nevertheless, further studies with a large number of subjects are needed to support these preliminary outcomes.

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