Evaluating the width of attached gingiva in various areas of the oral cavity and gingival sulcus depths in periodontally healthy adult subjects among eastern Indian population

Abstract

The width of attached gingiva varies from tooth to tooth and also among individuals with mixed opinions regarding an “adequate” or “sufficient” dimension of the gingiva. Although the need for a so‑called adequate amount of keratinized tissue for maintenance of periodontal health is questionable, the mucogingival junction serves as an important clinical landmark in periodontal evaluation. There are various methods of locating the mucogingival junction namely the functional method and the visual method with and without histochemical staining, which aid in the measurement of the width of attached gingiva.The objectives of the present study were to evaluate the width of attached gingiva as well as to determine the gingival sulcular depth in adult subjects from Eastern India.: Attached gingival width and sulcus depth were determined by a visual method, using a William’s periodontal probe. There were 120 subjects (60 males) and 60 (females) who represented a healthy population of undergraduate students, interns and post graduate students of Buddha Institute of Dental Sciences and Hospital and the patients reporting to OPD of the Institute.: Highest widths of attached gingiva in central incisors of maxillary (3.22±0.59) and mandibular arches (2.18±0.50) were found respectively. The present study found no significant differences in mean width of attached gingiva of maxillary and mandibular arches between male and female subjects. The mean gingival sulcus depth recorded in the present study was 1.04±0.13 mm. This was not significantly associated with age or gender. The mean value for the highest depth of gingival sulci for maxillary first molar was 1.07 ± 0.23 mm and lateral incisors of mandibular arches 1.05 ± 0.19 mm were found respectively.: This study has defined baseline values for the attached gingival width and sulcus depth among Eastern Indian population. This would help to determine deviation from the normal or this population and may help to identify individuals at risk for periodontal disease.