Evaluation of Soft Tissue Surgical Interventions to Improve Esthetic Outcomes in Restorative Dentistry
Soft tissue surgery; Esthetic dentistry; Pink Esthetic Score; Periodontal plastic surgery; Gingival biotype; Restorative dentistry
AuthorsAbstractAchieving optimal esthetic outcomes has become a fundamental objective in restorative dentistry, with increasing emphasis on the role of peri-restorative soft tissue management. The current research was conducted to compare the efficiency of various soft tissue surgery procedures in enhancing esthetic effects that come with restorative dental surgeries. An exploratory pilot study was undertaken on the basis of a synthetic dataset of 20 adult patients that needed soft tissue surgery intervention alongside restorative treatment. The types of periodontal plastic surgery methods, such as coronally advanced flap, connective tissue grafting, free gingival grafting and tunnel, were compared. The Pink Esthetic Score (PES) was used to determine the esthetic outcomes at baseline, one month and three months after surgery. Other parameters involved gingival stability, papilla fill, esthetic patient-reported satisfaction, postoperative pain and complications during the healing process. These findings showed that esthetic outcomes improved gradually in the course of time, with a significant change in the mean PES values between the baseline and three months after the operation. Graft-on and least invasive surgeries had better esthetic performance than flap-only surgeries. Both stable gingival margins and favourable papilla fill results were presented in most cases. The Esthetic satisfaction of patients increased significantly after the surgical intervention, and the postoperative pain and postoperative complications were not severe and temporary. Within the limitations of a pilot-scale synthetic analysis, the findings support the importance of soft tissue surgical interventions as an integral component of esthetically driven restorative dentistry.
1. Introduction Optimal esthetic outcomes demand has been an emerging theme in modern restorative dentistry due to the rise in the expectations of patients and the improvement of dental materials and methods. In addition to functional rehabilitation, the balance of the peri-restorative soft tissues is very important in the success and long durability of the restorative procedures, especially in the esthetic area1,2. The gingival form, the thickness of the tissue, papilla fill, and marginal stability have become common to determine the esthetic integration of natural dentition and restorations3. Deficiencies of the soft tissue, like gingival recession, inadequate keratinised tissue, thin gingival biotype, loss of interdental papillae, etc, can seriously affect the esthetic results, despite the technical success of the restorations4. Such circumstances can lead to poor appearance of the crown length, undermined restorative margins, asymmetry of the gingival levels and patient dissatisfaction5. Periodontal plastic surgeries have therefore become an eminent intervention in adjunctive terms to enhance the peri-restorative soft tissue architecture. A number of soft tissue surgical operations have been suggested to deal with esthetic issues in restorative dentistry, which include the coronally advanced flap surgeries, connective tissue grafts, free gingival grafts, and tunnel methods6,7. The most common of these are connective tissue grafts, which are •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• ejprd.org - Published by Dennis Barber Journals. Barber Ltd. All rights reserved
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