A randomized split mouth clinical study to compare the clinical outcomes of subepithelial connective graft and acellular dermal matrix in Miller's Class I recession coverage therapy

BACKGROUND: According to the American Association of Periodontology, subepithelial connective tissue graft (SCTG) is one the most reliable surgical technique available for the treatment of gingival recession (GR) with Miller's Class I defect. However, due to its various disadvantages, alternate grafts such as acellular dermal matrix (ADM) grafts have been introduced for recession coverage. The present study compares the clinical outcome of these two grafts in treating Miller's Class I GR. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All the 15 patients participated in the study who had totally 30 bilateral Miller's Class I GR were divided randomly into SCTG group and ADM group each containing 15 defects. In the SCTG group, coronally advanced flap (CAF) with SCTG was performed, and in ADM group, CAF with ADM was done. Clinical parameters were measured on the day of surgery (baseline) and after 6 months. Data collected were statistically analyzed using paired and unpaired t-tests. RESULTS: The analysis of the data collected at the baseline and 6 months later showed that there were no statistically significant differences in the recorded clinical parameters such as probing pocket depth, clinical attachment loss, and GR depth. ADM group showed a better color match than the SCTG group, while SCTG group achieved more keratinized tissue width than ADM group. CONCLUSION: From the outcome of the current study, we can conclude that ADM is an efficient substitute for SCTG for treating Miller's Class I GR. However, additional studies with greater number of samples and lengthier follow-up periods are necessary to validate the present inference.