October 2023

Objective: To evaluate the esthetics of root coverage procedures in patients with bilateral type 1 gingival recessions who were grafted with a subepithelial connective tissue graft (SCTG) and a xenogeneic collagen matrix (XCM). Material and methods: A randomized, double-blind, controlled clinical trial was carried out to compare Pink Esthetic Score (PES) and Root Coverage Esthetic Score (RES). Three examiners evaluated a sequence of 100 photographs of 25 patients with 50 recessions, at baseline and 6 months after surgeries. The test group was treated with coronally-advanced flap (CAF)+XCM, while the control group was treated with CAF+SCTG. Results: The mean values of RES and PES for CAF+XCM were 8.15 ± 0.5 and 8.52 ± 0.51, respectively; and 8.34 ± 1.12 and 8.92 ± 1.33 for CAF+SCTG. The CAF+SCTG group presented more cases that achieved better scores for Gingival Margin Level (GML) (p < 0.001) and Gingival Margin Contour (GMC) (p = 0.024), while CAF+XCM presented more cases with a better soft tissue texture score (STT) (p < 0.001). Thus, both CAF+XCM and CAF+SCTG promoted improvements in general esthetic appearance after 6 months, with no statistical difference. Conclusions: CAF+SCTG and CAF+XCM improved esthetic outcomes, with no difference between PES and RES, after 6 months.