Gingival thicknesses of maxillary and mandibular anterior regions in subjects with different craniofacial morphologies.

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study was to evaluate the mean gingival thicknesses of the maxillary and mandibular anterior regions in subjects with different craniofacial morphologies.

METHODS: For each dental arch, 128 periodontally healthy orthodontic patients with normal values of maxillary incisor position (1/NA, angle and distance; and 1/SN, angle) and mandibular incisor position (1/NB, angle and distance; and IMPA) were enrolled in the study. Craniofacial morphology of the participants was evaluated in the sagittal (ANB angle) and vertical directions (SN/GoGn angle) on lateral cephalograms. In the sagittal direction, the subjects were divided into 3 groups as Class I, Class II, and Class III. Each group was classified as low angle, normal, or high angle in the vertical direction. Mean gingival thicknesses of the maxillary and mandibular anterior regions were determined by the ratio of the sum of gingival thickness of the relevant teeth, measured by the transgingival probing technique, to the number of teeth.

RESULTS: Mean gingival thicknesses of the maxillary anterior region were 1.173 ± 0.61, 1.103 ± 0.207, and 1.130 ± 0.244 mm in the Class I, Class II, and Class III groups and 1.084 ± 0.150, 1.136 ± 0.247, and 1.159 ± 0.249 mm in the low angle, normal, and high angle groups, respectively. Mean gingival thicknesses of the mandibular anterior region were 0.710 ± 0.156, 0.741 ± 0.176, and 0.691 ± 0.157 mm in the Class I, Class II, and Class III groups and 0.705 ± 0.184, 0.701 ± 0.132, and 0.735 ± 0.174 mm in the low angle, normal, and high angle groups, respectively. No significant difference was found between the groups in terms of the mean gingival thicknesses of the maxillary and mandibular anterior regions.

CONCLUSIONS: There was no significant difference between the groups in terms of the mean gingival thicknesses of the maxillary and mandibular anterior regions.