The gingival recession is a common condition affecting both natural teeth and dental implants. Currently, the gold standard for treating gingival recession and other mucogingival deformities is the autogenous subepithelial connective tissue graft which requires harvesting tissue from the patient’s palate. This can lead to a considerable amount of discomfort and post-operative morbidity for the patient.

Fortunately, there are alternative biomaterials which can be used as alternatives to harvesting tissue from the palate. A “palate-free” approach to soft tissue grafting is more comfortable for the patient and leads to a favorable post-operative experience as well as increased treatment acceptance.

This program will feature the use of a volume-stable collagen matrix (Geistlich Fibrogide; VCMX) for treating gingival recession and increasing soft tissue volume around teeth and dental implants.

Learning Objectives:

• Review existing treatment options for root coverage of single and multiple adjacent recession defects and phenotype modification.
• Discuss scenarios when an alternative, to autogenous palatal donor tissue, is desirable.
• Discuss the unique physical and handling properties of a novel volume-stable xenogeneic collagen matrix.
• Learn how to improve case acceptance and achieve successful and predictable root coverage outcomes with a volume-stable collagen matrix.
• Discuss adjunctive methods to enhance and accelerate oral wound healing following periodontal plastic procedures.