# Comparative evaluation of the laterally closed tunnel technique with connective tissue graft and collagen matrix for treating localized type 1 gingival recession: a randomized, controlled clinical trial

## TL;DR

This study compares two methods for treating gum recession, finding both effective in improving gum health and appearance.

## Contribution

The study provides new evidence on the effectiveness of the laterally closed tunnel technique combined with two grafting materials for gum recession.

## Key findings

- Both LCT+CTG and LCT+CM significantly improved gum recession depth and coverage within six months.
- Secondary outcomes like gum thickness and esthetic scores also showed significant improvement in both groups.
- Patient-reported outcomes were favorable, indicating high satisfaction with the treatments.

## Abstract

There is limited evidence about the short- and long-term outcomes of the laterally closed tunnel (LCT) technique for gingival recession (GR) treatment. This clinical trial aimed to evaluate the short-term clinical effectiveness of and patient-reported outcomes of the LCT technique when used in combination with either connective tissue graft (CTG) or collagen matrix (CM).

A total of forty patients were randomly assigned to either the control group (LCT + CTG) or the test group (LCT + CM) for localized GR type 1 treatment. Primary outcome measures included recession depth (RD), recession width (RW), root coverage percentages (MRC%), and complete root coverage percentage (CRC%). Secondary outcomes included gingival thickness (GT), keratinized tissue width (KTW), clinical attachment level (CAL), attached gingiva width (AGW), root coverage esthetic score (RES), and patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs). Clinical evaluations were performed at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months after treatment.

At both 3 and 6 months postoperatively, the primary outcomes (RD, RW, MRC%, and CRC%) showed significant improvement (MRC% 93.98 ± 8.58% and 87.24 ± 13.70%, and CRC% 90% after 6 months; p < 0.001). All the secondary outcomes, including (GT, KTW, CAL, AGW, RES, and PROMs were also significantly improved at the end of the study in both groups (p < 0.001).

The LCT technique proved to be an effective technique for localized recession type 1 treatment when used in combination with CTG or CM.

Both grafting materials used in combination with the LCT technique resulted in favorable short-term clinical and esthetic outcomes for localized gingival recession.

The current clinical trial was retrospectively registered in ClinicalTrials.gov (ID: NCT06065774) and initially released in 13-09-2023 and finally released in 18-11-2024. https://register.clinicaltrials.gov/prs/beta/studies/S000CV1L00000057/recordSummary.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12903-025-07515-9.