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On the relationship between gingival biotypes and gingival thickness in young Caucasians
Author(s) -
Fischer Kai R.,
Richter Timo,
Kebschull Moritz,
Petersen Nicole,
Fickl Stefan
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
clinical oral implants research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.407
H-Index - 161
eISSN - 1600-0501
pISSN - 0905-7161
DOI - 10.1111/clr.12356
Subject(s) - gingival margin , periodontal probe , dentistry , medicine , major duodenal papilla , orthodontics
Objectives To evaluate a possible relationship between gingival biotypes and gingival thickness, papilla height and gingival width. Material and methods Thirty‐six adult subjects were stratified by their gingival biotype ( GB ), as defined by transparency of a periodontal probe through the buccal gingival margin, into “thin” (18 subjects) and “thick” (18 subjects) GB . Out of these, extreme cases (6 “very thin”, 6 “very thick”) were identified. Four different parameters were assessed: gingival thickness ( GT ), papilla height ( PH ), probing depth ( PD ) and gingival width ( GW ). Results When comparing “thin” and “thick” GB , midfacial GT (0.40 ± 0.07 vs. 0.72 ± 0.11 mm; P < 0.0001), PH (3.76 ± 0.50 vs. 3.95 ± 0.41 mm, P = 0.02) and GW (3.01 ± 1.26 vs. 4.63 ± 0.86 mm, P = 0.04) were lower in the “thin” GB group. Further stratification into moderately and extremely “thin”/“thick” GB eliminated the differences between the moderate groups. Conclusion Our data support the traditional hypothesis that two different gingival biotypes with concomitant properties distinguishable by gingival transparency exist. In addition, we provide evidence that an alternative classification into “very thick”, “moderate” and “very thin” biotypes might be advantageous, because the unique properties were seemingly primarily driven by subjects with extreme values.