[The significance of biotype in the predictability of dental-periodontal treatment].

Background: The dimension of attached gingiva is a very important landmark in the periodontal health, and determine the function of the mucogingival unit, the progression of marginal inflammation and also affects aesthetic dentistry, orthodontics and implantology. The determination of gingival/periodontal biotype is important in dental/periodontal practice. Hence, the aim of this cross sectional clinical study was to assess the width and thickness of attached gingiva in young, periodontally healthy individuals and to provide anthropometric data in Hungary.
Materials and Methods: 68 periodontally healthy (between the age of 14-28) individuals participated in the study. The thickness of the gingiva was determined using transgingival transparency of periodontal probe at each tooth in the maxillary and mandibular dental arch. Based on this non-invasive technique three biotype categories were determined i.e. thin > 1 mm, medium 1-2 mm and thick < 2 mm. The width of the gingiva was assessed by William's graduated probe measuring the distance between the gingival margin and mucogingival line the midline of each tooth. The data were statistically analyzed and compared according to gender, dental arch and group of teeth.
Results: The gingiva was found to be thinner in females than males. The thin biotype was significantly more common among females while in males the thick biotype was the dominant. The individual variations were common within dental arch and many times the biotype switched from tooth to tooth. The average width of the attached gingiva was wider in the maxilla than in the mandible and there was no statistically significant correlation between the biotype and the width of attached gingiva. Manifest gingival recession occurred just around teeth with thin biotype.
Conclusion: In the present study, we concluded that gingival thickness and width varies with gender and dental arch location and the biotype had no effect on the width of attached gingiva.