Reduction of gingival recession following orthodontic intrusion in periodontally compromised patients.

Objectives: To evaluate the role of orthodontic intrusion and alignment in the reduction of gingival recession (REC) around maxillary incisors of adult periodontal patients. Design - Prospective clinical study.
Setting and Sample Population: Twenty-eight consecutively treated adult patients, suffering from severe chronic periodontitis and with one upper central incisor extruded and infrabony defect on its mesial site. All patients were seen in a private practice in Turin, Italy. At baseline, all patients presented with REC on the buccal and mesial aspects of the treated teeth.
Measurements and Results: For each patient probing pocket depth (PPD) and REC were assessed at baseline, at the end of treatment and 1-year after the end of treatment. REC was also evaluated independently in patients with narrow (NPB) or wide periodontal biotype (WPB). All parameters showed improvement between initial and final measurements statistically, and showed no changes between final and follow-up measurements. Mean mesial PPD decrease was 4.29 mm, with a residual PPD of 2.50 mm. Mean REC reduction was 0.96 mm on the buccal sites and 1.71 mm on the mesial. No statistical difference was recorded on REC values between groups NPB and WPB.
Conclusion: The presented clinical protocol resulted in improvement of all parameters examined. At the end of orthodontic treatment a predictable reduction of REC was reported, both in patients with thin or wide gingiva.