Journal of Orthodontics & Endodontics

Principles of soft tissue grafting for strategic & predictable success

The field of periodontal surgery dealing with the correction of anatomic, developmental or trauma and disease induced defects of gingiva, alveolar mucosa and bone is known as periodontal plastic surgery. It includes but is not limited to deepening of shallow vestibule, widening of attached gingiva, ridge augmentation, coverage of denuded roots, reconstruction of papillae and periodontal prosthetic corrections. These procedures maybe performed to accomplish any of the objectives such as correction of the width of attached gingiva oranaberrant frenum. Objectives such as esthetic surgical therapy and tissue engineering have widened the horizons of periodontal plastic surgery. Substantial ground breaking research around various surgical techniques and their modifications started after the 1920s. However, sophisticated and relatively newer techniques such as the pinhole technique, VISTA etc. have been published in the last decade. These modern methods have increased clinical efficiency and improved ergonomics.  The periodontist today has a vast array of procedures and materials to choose from. This paper presents the principles of soft tissue grafting for predictable success including the steps involved in clinical case selection, to aid the decision making process and collates all relevant techniques and contemporary surgical objectives so as to provide clinicians a holistic picture of all the surgical methods and techniques at their disposal.

Author(s):

Arundeep Kaur

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