Treatment of Multiple Adjacent Gingival Recessions with a Coronally Advanced Flap vs a Modified Coronally Advanced Tunnel with a Volumetrically Stable Collagen Matrix: A 12-Month Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial

The introduction of a new collagen substitute, which will potentially reduce the invasiveness of techniques by avoiding the need for a second surgical site (ie, the donor site), needs to be evaluated in relation to the surgical procedure that could benefit the most by utilizing such a matrix. This study compared the clinical outcomes following treatment of RT1 multiple adjacent gingival recessions (MAGRs) using the modified coronally advanced tunnel (MCAT) technique or the multiple coro-nally advanced flap (MCAF) in conjunction with a new volume-stable xenogeneic collagen matrix (VXCM). Secondarily, the study evaluated whether patients report a preference between the two surgical techniques in terms of discomfort. A total of 20 patients requiring treatment of MAGRs were randomly assigned to one of the two treatment groups: MCAF+VCMX (Group A) or MCAT+VCMX (Group B). The following measurements were recorded at baseline (before surgery) and at 6 and 12 months: gingival recession depth (REC), probing pocket depth (PD), keratinized tissue width (KTW), and gingival thickness (GT). Postoperative pain and discomfort were recorded using a visual analog scale (VAS) at 1 week. The primary outcome variable was mean root coverage (mRC), and second-ary outcomes were complete root coverage (CRC), changes in KTW and GT, patient discomfort and satisfaction, and duration of surgery. Healing was uneventful in both groups. At 12 months, both treatments resulted in statistically significant improvements in REC and GT compared to baseline (P < .05). The mRC was 79.95% +/- 29.92% in the MCAF group and 64.74% +/- 40.5% in the MCAT group (P = .124). CRC was seen in 65.6% of MCAF-treated sites and 52% of MCAT-treated sites (P = .181). Similar clinical results should be expected when MAGRs are treated with MCAF or MCAT, with the adjunct of VCMX. Int J Periodontics Restorative Dent 2024;44:499-509. doi: 10.11607/prd.6796