Long-Term Stability of Root Coverage by Coronally Advanced Flap Procedures.

Background: This study compared 6-month and 3-year outcomes for root coverage (RC) by coronally advanced flap (CAF) procedures in localized gingival recessions.

Methods: Two centers, that had participated in a 6-month multinational multicenter randomized clinical trial (RCT), followed up 18 patients with 36 Miller Class I and II defects that had been treated in a split-mouth design with CAF procedures or CAF + xenogeneic collagen matrix (CMX). Percentage of RC, complete root coverage (CRC), width, and thickness of keratinized tissue were assessed by the same masked examiners as after the 6-month RCT.

Results: There was a high correlation between 6-month and 3-year RC outcomes for both CAF procedures. Mean RC after CAF + CMX amounted to 89.9% after 6 months and 91.7% after 3 years (Pearson's correlation: 0.91). Corresponding values for CAF were 83.7% versus 82.8% (Pearson's correlation: 0.94). Likewise, CRC was stable with 61%/61% for CAF + CMX and 39%/39% for CAF after 6 months/3 years, respectively.

Conclusions: In this 3-year follow-up of a subgroup of patients from a previous 6-month RCT, there was a high correlation between the results for RC after 6 months and 3 years, indicating their stability. These data suggest that 6-month outcomes may be useful to predict long-term outcomes in CAF procedures with or without additional use of CMX.