Progress in clinical treatment and etiology of gingival recession

Gingival recession is one of the common oral symptoms. Periodontal soft tissue defects caused by gingival recession and problems related to aesthetics, prosthetics and orthodontic treatment have garnered increasing attention. This article reviews the etiology, classification and treatment of gingival recession to provide a reference for the diagnosis and treatment of gingival recession. Anatomical characteristics of teeth, bacterial and viral infection, Occlusion trauma, Improperbrushing methods and other daily behaviors and iatrogenic factors may lead to gingival recession. Miller classification is the most commonly used classification standard. It is divided into 4 degrees according to the relationship between gingival recession and the association between the gingival membrane and the loss of adjacent alveolar bone or interdental papilla. Gingival surgeries, such as coronally advanced flap, laterally positioned flap, subepithelial connective tissue graft for Miller Ⅰ degrees and Ⅱ gingival recession retreat, obtain a more satisfactory success rate. Regarding the Ⅲ degree gingival recession, the postoperative curative effect is poor and can only cover part of the root. Regarding Ⅳ degrees gingival recession, surgery cannot reach the root surface coverage. For patients with Miller Ⅳ gingival recession caused by severe periodontitis, the surgical treatment is poor, and repair methods, such as sputum, can al-so be considered. In recent years, a variety of biological materials have been jointly applied to gingival surgery, such as tooth enamel matrix derivative (EMD), allograft acellular dermal matrix (ADM), porcine collagen matrix (PCM) and platelet-rich fibrin (PRF). The use of these biomaterials can improve root coverage, increase gingival thickness and keratinized gingival width, avoid the requirement of palatal flap removal, reduce the surgical risk and increase patient compliance.