Free Gingival Autograft and Subepithelial Connective Tissue Graft for the Treatment of Gingival Recession: A Brief Review and Report of Three Cases

Abstract

Gingival recession is the migration of the free gingival margin apical to the cementoenamel junction. There are various factors contributing toward gingival recession apart from periodontal disease that include faulty tooth brushing, tooth position or malaligned teeth, high muscle or frenal attachment, alveolar bone dehiscence, orthodontic forces, and iatrogenic factors leading to problems of esthetics, hypersensitivity, and root caries.Several periodontal plastic surgical techniques have been introduced in the previous literature aiming to correct marginal tissue recessions, the predictability of which depends upon careful evaluation of the defect type, presence of attached gingiva, keratinized tissue width, and presence of single or multiple gingival recessions. The use of free gingival graft (FGG) and subepithelial connective tissue graft (SCTG) in root coverage is indicated for the treatment of single or multiple gingival recessions. Although both FGGs and SCTGs provide significant reduction in recession depth and clinical attachment gain for Miller's Class I and II gingival recession defects, SCTG seems to offer root coverage with a better color match between donor and recipient site tissue rendering better esthetics. Considering the advantages and disadvantages of FGG and SCTG in root coverage procedures, the following case reports describe the clinical results using FGG by Miller's technique, and using SCTGs by technique of Langer and Langer, and Zabalegui tunnel technique for the treatment of gingival recession.