Gingival Biotype: A Comparative Evaluation of Clinical Parameters

The term gingival biotype describes the thickness of the gingiva in the facio-palatal dimension. In this era of esthetic-driven dentistry, it is important that clinicians consider how gingiva will respond to the various restorative, prosthetic, and periodontal procedures. Therefore, a solid knowledge in identifying gingival biotypes (GB) is paramount in achieving optimal treatment outcomes. The present study assesses gingival thickness (GT) and correlates with gender, clinical crown form, keratinized gingiva, height of gingival width, gingival scalloping height, probing depth and presence of recession in the anterior and posterior regions of healthy gingiva among the general population. The study population includes 154 subjects of 20-45 yrs. wherein all the mentioned clinical parameters mentioned are evaluated using UNC-15 probe and an endodontic file with rubber stopper. The prevalence rate of thin biotype observed in the present study was 13 per and thick biotype is 87% in a sample size of 154 with females of 128 (83 per) and males of 26 (17 per). It was concluded that there is significant intra and inter individual variation in GT among population. Thin biotypes are more susceptible to periodontal disease and recession, while thick biotypes tend to be more resistant to these conditions and may support better treatment outcomes, and no significant differences found between labial and palatal surfaces. Key Words Crown form, Gingival biotype, Gingival thickness, Papillary height, Probe transparency, Trans gingival probing