Comparative Evaluation of Coronally Advanced Flap with and without Amniotic Membrane in the treatment of Localised Miller’s Class I and Class II Gingival Recession Defects: A Randomised Controlled Trial

Abstract

Introduction: Gingival recession is the exposure of the root surface of the tooth, characterised by the displacement of the gingival margin apically from the Cementoenamel Junction (CEJ). Various techniques have been suggested for treating recession, such as Free Gingival Graft (FGG), Connective tissue grafts, laterally or Coronally Advanced Flaps (CAF), and Guided Tissue Regeneration (GTR)-based procedures. Different membranes have been used for GTR, one of which is the amnion membrane. Aim: To evaluate root coverage using Coronally Advanced Flap (CAF) with and without amniotic membrane in the treatment of localised gingival recession. Materials and Methods: A randomised controlled trial was conducted at Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Dental College and Hospital, Solapur, Maharashtra, India from March 2017 to February 2018. In this study, 30 teeth were treated, with 15 teeth undergoing CAF with amniotic membrane (Group IITest Group) and 15 teeth treated with CAF without amniotic membrane (Group I-Control Group). Probing Depth (PD), Clinical Attachment Level (CAL), Relative Attachment Level (RAL), Recession Width (RW), Recession Depth (RD), Width of Keratinised Gingiva (WKG), Width of Attached Gingiva (WAG), and gingival biotype were assessed between baseline and after three months. Statistical analysis was performed using paired t-test, independent t-test, and Mann-Whitney U-Test. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 20.0 was used for analysis. The α error of 5% (p-value=0.05) and β error of 20% were taken into consideration. Results: The mean age of the study population was 30.36±4.55 years, with 18 males and 12 females. There was a decrease in RD, RW, PD, and a gain in CAL and RAL in both groups after three months compared to the baseline values. Additionally, there was an increase in WKG, WAG, and a significant change in the thickness of the gingival biotype from thin to thick in both groups at the end of three months. On inter group comparison, the changes in PD (p-value=1.00), RD (p-value=1.00), RW (0.176), CAL (0.664), RAL (1.00), WKG (p-value=0.313) were not statistically significant at the end of three months. WAG was higher in Group II compared to Group I (p-value=0.014*), and the mean root coverage was greater in Group II (15.62%) than in the control group (11.642%) (p-value=0.005) at the end of three months. There was a statistically significant difference (p-value=0.005*) in Group II (15.62%) compared to the control group (11.642%). Conclusion: Amniotic membrane in combination with CAF proves to be a successful option for root coverage in localised recession defects. However, histological evidence and a greater number of future longitudinal studies are necessary to study the efficacy of this approach.