Treatment of Localized Gingival Recession with an Enamel Matrix Protein-Coated Xenogeneic Dermal Matrix: A Randomized Controlled Trial

TL;DR

This study found that adding enamel matrix derivate to a standard treatment for gum recession did not significantly improve outcomes compared to the standard treatment alone.

Contribution

The study provides new clinical evidence on the effectiveness of adding enamel matrix derivate to a xenogeneic dermal matrix and coronally advanced flap in treating gum recession.

Findings

There was no significant difference in root coverage between the control and test groups.

The control group showed greater thickness of keratinized gingiva than the test group.

No clinical benefit was observed from adding enamel matrix derivate to the standard treatment.

Abstract

This study aims to evaluate the influence of the additional use of enamel matrix derivate (EMD) in the treatment of gingival recession defects using a coronally advanced flap (CAF) and a xenogeneic dermal matrix (XDM) by means of digital and clinical assessment methods. In this prospective randomized controlled study, recession height and area, width and thickness of keratinized gingiva, pocket probing depth, and clinical attachment levels were measured at the baseline and followed up for one year. Fifteen patients (n = 15) with 24 gingival recession defects were treated between 2019 and 2021. On average, the digitally assessed root coverage of the control group (CAF + XDM) was not significantly different compared to the test group (CAF + XDM + EMD), with 69 ± 28% and 36 ± 32%, respectively (p = 0.094). One year postoperatively, there were no differences found regarding keratinized tissue width (KTW) between the control group and test group (p = 0.690). However, the control group showed superior results in the thickness of keratinized gingiva (p = 0.044). The present study showed that there were no statistically significant differences in the root coverage results in the CAF + XDM + EMD group compared to the CAF + XDM group. The adjunctive use of EMD to a CAF and XDM in the treatment of gingival recession defects does not appear to have any clinical benefit.

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