The use of free buccal pad fat graft as a viable therapeutic modality in localized gingival recession: a randomized controlled clinical trial.

BACKGROUND

The buccal fat pad (BFP) is a unique, encapsulated fatty tissue that retains its volume and structure over time and contains undifferentiated mesenchymal cells. It has been used in various surgical techniques, such as closing oroantral and oronasal communications and repairing defects due to trauma or malignancy. A few years ago, the buccal fat pad was utilized as a pedicle or free soft tissue graft to treat gingival recessions. Therefore, this randomized clinical trial (RCT) was conducted to assess the effectiveness of the free buccal fat pad graft (FBPFG) compared to the de-epithelialized free gingival graft (DFGG) in conjunction with coronally advanced flap (CAF) in localized gingival recession treatment.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This RCT included 39 participants, with 20 patients receiving a coronally advanced flap (CAF) with FBPFG (Group I) and 19 patients treated with CAF and DFGG (Group II). Clinical parameters such as probing depth (PD), clinical attachment level (CAL), recession depth (RD), width of keratinized gingiva (WKG), and gingival thickness (GT) were assessed after 3- and 6 months of surgical intervention.

RESULTS

After 3- and 6-month follow-ups, statistically significant changes were noted between the groups in all clinical parameters. At 1st and 2nd days of surgical intervention, there was a statistically significant decrease in the values of the visual analogue scale (VAS) in group I compared to group II. Regarding dentinal hypersensitivity, there were statistically significant variations of 3- and 6-month parameters compared to baseline in the two groups. However, there were no differences between the two after the therapy.

CONCLUSION

It was proven that DFGG produces significantly better outcomes than FBPFG in treating localized gingival recession. However, FBPFG might serve as a viable alternative for mild to moderate gingival recession cases, where only a limited reduction in recession depth and modest increase in gingival thickness and width of keratinized tissues are required, with the benefit of lower donor site morbidity.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

This randomized controlled clinical trial was registered on the Pan African Clinical Trials Registry and approved on 22/06/2023 (Trial no: PACTR202307891237031).