Assessment of the correlation between supracrestal gingival tissue dimensions and other periodontal phenotypes components via the digital registration method: a cross‑sectional study in a Chinese population

BACKGROUND

Supracrestal gingival tissue dimensions (SGTDs) has been considered to be an essential element of periodontal phenotype (PP) components. This study aimed to explore the relationship between SGTDs and other PP components by digital superposition method that integrated cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) with intraoral scanning.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study was conducted at the Stomatology Hospital of Fujian Medical University. Participants were recruited based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The data obtained from the digital scanner (TRIOS 3, 3Shape, Denmark) and CBCT images were imported into the TRIOS software (Implant Studio, 3Shape, Denmark) for computing relevant parameters. The significant level was set at 0.05.

RESULTS

A total of 83 participants with 498 maxillary anterior teeth were finally included. The mean values of supracrestal gingival height (SGH) and the distance from the cementoenamel junction (CEJ) to the crest of the alveolar ridge (CEJ-ABC) on the buccal site were significantly higher than palatal SGH (SGH-p) and palatal CEJ-ABC (CEJ-ABC-p). Men exhibited taller CEJ-ABC and SGH-p than women. Additionally, tooth type was significantly associated with the SGH, SGH-p and CEJ-ABC-p. Taller SGH was associated with wider crown, smaller papilla height (PH), flatter gingival margin, thicker bone thickness (BT) and gingival thickness (GT) at CEJ, the alveolar bone crest (ABC), and 2 mm apical to the ABC. Smaller SGH-p displayed thicker BT and GT at CEJ, the ABC, and 2 and 4 mm apical to the ABC. Higher CEJ-ABC showed lower interproximal bone height, smaller PH, flatter gingival margin, thinner GT and BT at CEJ, and 2 mm apical to the ABC. Smaller CEJ-ABC-p displayed thicker BT at CEJ and 2 and 4 mm apical to the ABC. On the buccal, thicker GT was correlated with thicker BT at 2 and 4 mm below the ABC.

CONCLUSION

SGTDs exhibited a correlation with other PP components, especially crown shape, gingival margin and interdental PH. The relationship between SGTDs and gingival and bone phenotypes depended on the apico-coronal level evaluated.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

This study was approved by the Biomedical Research Ethics Committee of Stomatology Hospital of Fujian Medical University (approval no. 2023-24).

The gingival phenotypes and related clinical periodontal parameters in a cohort of Pakistani young adults

Objective

To evaluate the gingival phenotypes of healthy young adult Pakistanis attending a dental institution.

Methods

A cross-sectional study of gingival phenotype, probing depth (PD), papilla height (PH), gingival width (GW), gingival thickness (GT), crown width (CW) and crown length (CL) of maxillary central incisors was conducted in 510 healthy, Pakistani young adults, aged 20-35 years, attending a regional dental hospital in Pakistan. The K-means clustering technique was employed to delineate clusters based on the characteristics of the periodontal phenotypes. The resultant data was compared with the available international findings.

Results

Three quarters (76 %) of the 510 patients examined exhibited a thick gingival phenotype, and the remainder a thin phenotype. The K-means clustering deployed the individual into three different clusters 1, 2 and 3, with varying ratios of PD, GW, CW/CL, with significant variations across the three clusters (p < 0.05). Our data where a vast majority of the cohort exhibited a thick gingival phenotype is comparable to most of the populations sampled in other regions of the world.

Conclusion

Taken together the current data, a first for a Pakistani population, indicate that healthy, young adult Pakistanis had differing gingival phenotypes and crown forms, with the thick gingival phenotype predominating. These results are similar to reports from most other regions of the world. However, a larger study with a broader swathe of the Pakistani population is required to derive country specific data on the subject.

Nomogram prediction of vulnerable periodontal condition before orthodontic treatment in the anterior teeth of Chinese patients with skeletal Class III malocclusion

OBJECTIVE

To establish and verify models predictive of thin periodontal phenotype and alveolar fenestration/dehiscence in the anterior teeth of patients with skeletal Class III malocclusion.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Retrospective data of 669 anterior teeth (305 in maxillae and 364 in mandibles) from 80 patients with skeletal Class III malocclusion before augmented corticotomy were collected. Distribution of thin periodontal phenotype and alveolar fenestration and dehiscence were evaluated and their associations with potential influencing factors were explored using univariate and multivariate analyses. The predictive models were visualized as nomograms, the accuracy of which was tested by receiver operating curve analyses.

RESULTS

Thin phenotype was associated with Mazza bleeding index, sex, tooth type, probing depth and width of keratinized gingiva (WKG). Labial dehiscence was associated with age, jaw, labial bone thickness, mandibular plane angle, sagittal root position (SRP), sex, tooth type, and WKG. Labial fenestration was associated with sex, tooth type, SRP, and periodontal phenotype. The areas under the curves of nomogram prediction models for periodontal phenotype, alveolar dehiscence, and alveolar fenestration were 0.84, 0.81, and 0.73, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Female sex, lateral incisor, and limited WKG may be risk factors for thin periodontal phenotype. Age, canine, male sex, mandible, thin labial bone thickness, and root positioned against the labial plate may be risk factors for labial dehiscence; and female sex, thick phenotype, root positioned against the labial plate, lateral incisor, and canine may be risk factors for labial fenestration. The predictive performance of the models was acceptable.

Concentrated growth factor promotes gingival regeneration through the AKT/Wnt/β-catenin and YAP signaling pathways

Although concentrated growth factor (CGF) is known to promote gingival regeneration and improve the outcomes of clinical treatment, the mechanisms underlying its effects remain unknown. Therefore, this study aimed to elucidate the effects of CGF on gingival thickening. To this end, gingival mesenchymal stem cells (GMSCs) were treated with different concentrations of CGF, and the effects of CGF on cell proliferation and migration; collagen-1 (Col-1), fibronectin (FN), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and angiopoietin-1 (Ang-1) expression; and the AKT, Wnt/β-catenin, and Yes-associated protein (YAP) signalling pathways were investigated. The effects of CGF in vivo were also investigated in a rat buccal gingival injection model. GMSCs cultured with CGF showed improved cell proliferation and migration. Moreover, CGF treatment improved the levels of FN, Col-1, VEGF, and ANG-1. These effects of CGF were mediated by the AKT/Wnt and YAP pathways, with the AKT pathway possibly functioning upstream of the Wnt/β-catenin and YAP pathways. YAP was also shown to be overexpressed in the in vivo model. Thus, CGF can promote gingival regeneration, and YAP transport into the nucleus may be a key factor underlying this activity, which provides a novel perspective for gingival regeneration and further promotion of the clinical application of CGF.