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Volume 43 , Issue 1
January/February 2023
Pages 95–102

The Tunnel Wall Approach and Enamel Matrix Derivative to Cover Exposed Roots and Improve Clinical Attachment Levels in Cairo Class III Defects Associated with an Intrabony Lesion in the Anterior Area: Three Cases

Julien Mourlaas, DDS/Benjamin Cortasse, DDS/François Vigouroux, DDS/Alex Dagba, DDS

DOI: 10.11607/prd.6352

These case reports present a surgical technique to improve the clinical attachment level and cover the exposed root surface in Cairo Class III situations associated with a one- to two-wall combined intrabony defect in the anterior area. The tunnel wall approach combined previously described concepts and placed a CTG into a modified tunnel-type flap through a vertical releasing incision. The CTG acted both as a buccal soft tissue wall to stabilize the blood clot and as a space maintainer to coronally move the tissue. The decontaminated root surfaces were treated with enamel matrix derivative, and a bone filler material was placed from the bottom of the intrabony defect up to the cementoenamel junction to support the proximal soft tissue architecture. Healing of the four presented sites was uneventful. Clinical measurements up to 12 months showed significant probing depth reduction, clinical attachment gain, and coverage of the buccal recession in each case. Papilla improvement was reported in three cases. Radiographic examinations confirmed intrabony defect healing and the presence of embedded bone filler material in the soft tissue above the bone crest. The tunnel wall approach seems to be a valuable option to safely enhance the clinical attachment level and cover the exposed root in Cairo Class III situations associated with a one- to two-wall combined intrabony defect in the anterior area.

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