Treatment of multiple maxillary adjacent class I and II gingival recessions with modified coronally advanced tunnel and a new xenogeneic acellular dermal matrix

Objective: To evaluate the treatment of maxillary Miller Class I and II multiple adjacent gingival recessions using the modified coronally advanced tunnel technique (MCAT) combined with a new porcine acellular dermal matrix (PADM). Materials and Methods: Twelve patients exhibiting at least six adjacent maxillary Miller Class I and II gingival recessions were consecutively treated by means of MCAT and a PADM. Recession depth (RD), recession width (RW), probing pocket depth (PD), keratinized tissue height (KT), clinical attachment level (CAL), mean root coverage (RC), and complete root coverage (CRC) were recorded. Results: At 12 months, CRC was obtained in 43% of the 100 gingival recessions, while the mean RC measured 84.35%. Mean RD reduction was 3.160.75 mm (P < 0.001), mean RW reduction was 1.730.65 mm (P < 0.001), while the gain of CAL was 3.26 +/- 1.33 mm (P < 0.001). All patients were satisfied with the esthetic appearance and would undergo the same surgery again. Conclusion: Within their limits, the present results indicate that treatment of Miller Class I and II multiple gingival recessions using PADM in conjunction with the MCAT could be successfully used as an alternative to connective tissue grafts, with the advantage of avoiding the discomfort and morbidity of connective tissue harvesting. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE The modified coronally advanced tunnel technique using the new porcine acellular dermal matrix represents a clinically and esthetically satisfactory treatment of multiple Miller Class 1 and 2 recession defects.