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, Luigi Genzano, Divya Patel, , Michele Nieri

Journal of Clinical Periodontology

Receding gums is a common feature of gum disease inflammation (periodontitis) or trauma (incorrect toothbrushing habits). Retraction of gum tissue could have an impact on mouth and facial aesthetics (so-called 鈥渓ong teeth appearance鈥�) but also it is frequently associated with tooth hypersensitivity, in particular, after cold drinks.听

A number of gum surgical procedures have been proposed to recreate the lost gum tissue around teeth. Stretching the existing residual gum tissue with a localised gum surgery, with or without the use of a gum graft (small strip of gum harvested from the roof of the mouth of the same patient) is the most effective treatment to manage gum recession.听The collection of a gum graft from the roof of the mouth however is linked to greater discomfort, pain and complications for the patient.

This study听aimed to test an alternative technique where instead of a gum graft, we used a collagen matrix of animal origin (pig). This is a safe and biocompatible material with no side effects reported to date.

We enrolled patients with gum recession and randomly allocated them to receive either a conventional gum stretching surgery (coronally advanced flap) alone or in combination with the novel collagen matrix.

Results of the study recorded during the one-year, follow-up period confirmed that the latter approach was effective in creating new and strong gum tissue without the need of taking a gum graft from other sites of the mouth. The measured discomfort during the first week after surgery was very low (score= <1 out of 10) and the level of aesthetic satisfaction at the end of the observational period was very high (score= 9.3 out 10).

We are planning further investigations on new procedures/devices aimed to reconstruct the lost gingival soft tissue after infectious disease or trauma.

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