COMPARISON OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF CORONALLY ADVANCED FLAP ALONE AND IN COMBINATION WITH PLATELET-RICH FIBRIN MEMBRANE FOR TREATMENT OF GINGIVAL RECESSIONS

Purpose: To compare the effectiveness between the coronally advanced flap alone and in combination with a platelet-rich fibrin membrane for the treatment of gingival recessions Miller class I and II. Materials and methods: 30 gingival recessions Miller Class I /II were surgically treated randomly divided into 2 groups: 15 recessions in the test group (CAF + PRF) and 15 recessions in the control group (CAF). Before the surgical intervention and on the 6th month postoperatively, the following clinical parameters were evaluated: depth (RD) and width (RW) of gingival recession, probing pocket depth (PPD), clinical attachment level (CAL), amount of keratinized gingiva (KTH) and gingival thickness (GT). In the 6th month, the achieved mean root coverage in percentage (MRC, %) was evaluated. Results: A similar success of both techniques was demonstrated in terms of achieved MRC % - 88.44 % ± 16.99 % in the CAF + PRF group vs. 84.44% ± 20.38% in the CAF group (p = 0.56), as well as in the improvement of the following parameters: RD, RW, PPD, CAL and KTH. The additional use of PRF membrane to CAF resulted in a statistically significant increase in gingival thickness when the results were assessed 6 months after the surgical treatment of the recessions in the CAF + PRF group compared to CAF - a mean increase of 0.32 mm vs. 0.06 mm (p < 0.01). Conclusions: Combining CAF with PRF membrane is a more effective approach to increase soft tissue thickness and achieve stable root coverage to maintain periodontal health in patients with sufficient keratinized gingiva in gingival recessions Miller class I and II.