Long-Term Follow-up on Root Coverage with a Double Pedicle Flap and Connective Tissue Graft.

Partial-thickness double pedicle flap and connective tissue graft (CTG) is a procedure to treat single gingival recession in the anterior mandible. However, long-term data have not been reported. Patients who had been treated by the same periodontist in a private practice in Belgium between 2002 and 2009 were invited to return for a clinical examination in 2017. Seventeen patients (15 females, 2 males; mean age: 34.6 years) with a total of 23 treated single recessions were reexamined after 8 to 15 years of follow-up. Between 1 and 8 to 15 years of follow-up, mean and complete root coverage did not differ and amounted to 75% and 44% at study termination, respectively (P = .204). The esthetic outcome was mediocre, given a final mean root coverage esthetic score of 6.52. The Mucosal Scarring Index demonstrated a significant reduction in scarring between 1 and 8 to 15 years of follow-up; however, 31% of the cases still demonstrated some scarring in the end. Patients were less critical than clinicians, as they expressed high esthetic (mean: 81) and low scarring (mean 14) scores on visual analog scales. Partial-thickness double pedicle flap and CTG is an effective root-coverage procedure. However, alternative techniques may need to be considered for esthetically demanding patients.

The Mucosal Scarring Index: reliability of a new composite index for assessing scarring following oral surgery.

OBJECTIVES: A critical and uniform assessment of mucosal scarring following oral surgery is needed to refine surgical decision-making. For that purpose, the Mucosal Scarring Index (MSI) was developed. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The MSI is a composite index based on five parameters: width, height/contour, color, suture marks, and overall appearance. Each parameter is assessed with a 0-1-2 score, yielding a MSI score ranging from 0 (no scar) to 10 (most extreme scar). Five periodontists, 5 prosthodontists, and 5 orthodontists assessed scarring using the new index on the basis of 30 clinical photographs of post-surgical sites. Cases had been carefully selected making sure that the complete spectrum of the index would be represented in the analysis. Duplicate evaluation was performed with a 2-h interval and in random order of cases. RESULTS: On a total of 450 assessments, the mean MSI amounted to 4.91 (SD 3.087) with no significant differences between scores given by periodontists (mean 4.65; SD 3.054), orthodontists (mean 5.04; SD 3.301), or prosthodontists (mean 4.81; SD 2.842) (p = 0.548). The MSI appeared a highly reliable index given excellent inter- as well as intra-examiner agreement (ICC > 0.9; p < 0.001). Clinicians agreed most on 'overall appearance' (kappa = 0.582; p < 0.001) and least on 'suture marks' (kappa = 0.352; p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The MSI is an effective, easy-to-use, and reliable composite index to assess mucosal scarring following oral surgical procedures. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: The MSI can be used as an adjunct to other indices in the esthetic evaluation of oral surgical procedures.