Year : 2024

Volume : Volume 16

Issue : Issue 5

Address for correspondence :
Nishtha Patel
patelnishtha.123@gmail.com

Abstract

Introduction: Gingival recession in the esthetic zone poses both functional and esthetic challenges, often necessitating surgical intervention to restore soft-tissue harmony and patient comfort. Among the various root coverage techniques, the Modified Vestibular Incision Subperiosteal Tunnel Access (M-VISTA) and Zucchelli’s coronally advanced flap technique have gained clinical acceptance for the treatment of Miller’s class I and class II recession defects. This clinical study aims to evaluate and compare the clinical efficacy and patient-centered outcomes of these two techniques over a 6-month follow-up period. Materials and Methods: A total of 20 systemically healthy subjects with Miller’s class I/II gingival recession defects were enrolled and randomly allocated into two groups (10 in each group): Group A was treated using the M-VISTA technique, and Group B with Zucchelli’s coronally advanced flap technique. Clinical parameters, including recession depth (RD), recession width, gingival thickness, keratinized tissue width (KTW), and relative attachment level (RAL), were recorded at baseline, 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months. Patient-centered outcomes, such as esthetic satisfaction (patient esthetic score) and post-operative comfort (verbal rating score), were also evaluated at respective intervals. Results: Both techniques resulted in significant improvement in all clinical parameters from baseline to 6 months. Zucchelli’s technique showed slightly better outcomes in terms of RD reduction, RAL gain, and KTW increase. The esthetic score was higher in Zucchelli’s group throughout all follow-up intervals. Although both groups reported satisfactory healing and comfort, the verbal rating scale showed marginally better comfort in the M-VISTA group during the early healing phase. Conclusion: Both M-VISTA and Zucchelli’s techniques are effective for the management of Miller’s classI/II gingival recession. However, Zucchelli’s technique demonstrated slightly superior clinical and esthetic outcomes, whereas M-VISTA offered better post-operative comfort during the initial healing phase. These findings support the use of both techniques depending on clinical priorities and patient preferences. Keywords:  Modified Vetibular incision, Zucchelli technique, gingival recession.