Objective: To evaluate the long-term clinical results after treatment of multiple adjacent recession type (RT) I and II gingival recessions treated with the modified coronally advanced tunnel (MCAT) in conjunction with a porcine acellular dermal matrix (PADM).
Method and materials: Nine periodontally healthy nonsmoking patients (seven women, 37.5 ± 7.36 years old) with a total of 41 adjacent RT I (n = 23) and RT II (n = 18) gingival recessions exhibiting a minimum depth of 2 mm were treated by means of MCAT+PADM. Recession depth and width, width of attached and keratinized tissue, probing depths, and clinical attachment level were measured at baseline and at 1 and 4 years postsurgically. The primary outcome variable was complete root coverage (ie 100% root coverage), while secondary outcomes were mean root coverage and increase in keratinized tissue and attached gingiva widths.
Results: At 1 and 4 years, statistically highly significant (P < .001) root coverage was obtained in all nine patients compared to baseline. Mean root coverage decreased in these nine patients from 72.05 ± 30.18% at 1 year to 56.79 ± 27.53% at 4 years. Complete root coverage was obtained in 18 gingival recessions at 1 year (baseline RT: 12 RT I, 6 RT II) and in seven gingival recessions (5 RT I, 2 RT II) at 4 years. Most root coverage occurred in the first year postsurgically, showing a statistically significant decrease between the first and fourth year (P = .003). Mean width of attached gingiva increased statistically significantly (P < .05) from 2.85 ± 1.08 mm to 3.14 ± 1.08 mm at 1 year with a statistically significant decrease at 4 years. At 1 year, 78.05% of gingival recessions showed a root coverage > 50%, and 68.29% still exhibited a root coverage > 50% at 4 years.
Conclusion: The use of MCAT+PADM represents a valuable treatment option for multiple adjacent maxillary and mandibular RT I and II gingival recessions on a long-term basis.