We report an unusual case of external root resorption (ERR) that developed in a 37-year-old black male approximately 1 year following routine partial thickness connective tissue graft surgery. The lesion was accessed via flap surgery, thoroughly root planed, and the mucoperiosteal flap replaced. The site healed uneventfully and the patient has been closely observed for over 1 year without symptoms or recurrence of the resorptive lesion and the affected tooth remained vital. Clinicians performing partial-thickness connective tissue grafts should be alert to the possible occurrence of root resorption over extended periods of time. The authors speculate that retention of the donor periosteum with placement on the recipient dentin and root biomodification may limit the resorptive response following connective tissue graft procedures to treat tooth root recession.
Traditional periodontal plastic surgery techniques for the management of gingival recession have typically used soft tissue grafts to obtain defect coverage with great clinical success. Clinicians using guided tissue regeneration (GTR) techniques are also enjoying significant success in periodontal plastic surgery procedures. GTR therapy utilizing bioabsorbable membranes offers the advantages of preventing a donor site surgery and a second surgical procedure for barrier removal. A new bioabsorbable bilayer collagen membrane that readily adapts to bone and tooth surfaces by a gel formation of collagen fibers and blood may be stabilized without sutures prior to soft tissue closure. This bioabsorbable membrane has been shown to be effective in guided bone regeneration procedures and in treating periodontal defects. This case demonstrates the treatment of gingival recession with a novel collagen bilayer membrane.
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