The interproximal clinical attachment level to classify gingival recessions and predict root coverage outcomes. An explorative and reliability study

Francesco Cairo , Michele Nieri (1) , Sandro Cincinelli (1) , Jana Mervelt (1) , Umberto Pagliaro (2)

1 Periodontology
2 Department of Periodontology

Background: Aims of this study were i) to test the reliability of a new classification system of gingival recessions using the level of interproximal clinical attachment as identification criterion ii) to explore the predictive value of the resulting classification system on the final root coverage outcomes. Material and methods: Patients showing at least one buccal gingival recession were recruited by one operator. Three recession types (RT) were identified. The classification was tested by two examiners blinded to the data collected by the other examiner. Intra-rater and inter-rater agreement was assessed. Furthermore, the 6-month root coverage outcomes of consecutively treated gingival recessions were retrospectively evaluated to explore predictive value of the proposed classification on the final outcomes. Results: The new classification system of gingival recessions was tested in 116 gingival recessions (mean 3.2  1.2mm) in 25 patients. The Intra-class Correlation Coefficient (ICC) for inter-rater agreement was 0.86 showing an almost perfect agreement between examiners. The RT classification was predictive of the final recession reduction (p <0.0001) at the 6-month follow-up in 109 treated gingival recessions. Conclusions: The evaluation of interproximal clinical attachment level may be used to classify gingival recession defects and to predict the final root coverage outcomes.

Mots clés: Medicine

Francesco Cairo, Michele Nieri, Sandro Cincinelli, Jana Mervelt, Umberto Pagliaro. The interproximal clinical attachment level to classify gingival recessions and predict root coverage outcomes. An explorative and reliability study. Journal of Clinical Periodontology, 2011, 38 (7), pp.661. ⟨10.1111/j.1600-051X.2011.01732.x⟩. ⟨hal-00634006⟩