Objective: The aim of the present study was to compare the use of Xenogeneic Acellular Dermal Matrix versus connective tissue graft in conjunction with tunneling technique in treatment of gingival recession by esthetic outcome, clinical parameters, and patient satisfaction.
Materials and methods: 16 patients of each gender with age vary from 20 to 40 years diagnosed with wither gingival recession Miller class I or class II. The patients were divided randomly into two groups. Group I (test group) were treated with xenogeneic acellular dermal matrix in combination with the tunneling technique. Group II (control group) were treated with connective tissue graft in combination with the tunneling technique. The following clinical parameters were measured at baseline, 3 and 6 months postoperatively: gingival recession depth (GRD) and width (GRW), probing depth (PD), clinical attachment level (CAL), keratinized tissue width (KTW), mean root coverage (MRC), complete root coverage (CRC) and Root Coverage Esthetic Score (RES).
Results: 3 and 6 months postoperatively, both groups showed significant improvement in all clinical parameters compared to baseline, with no statistically significant difference between both groups. Connective tissue graft can be slightly superior to the xenogeneic acellular dermal matrix in terms of complete root coverage and esthetic score but with no statistically significant difference.
Conclusion: Xenogeneic acellular dermal matrix can be considered as a viable substitute for connective tissue graft due to the marked improvement in all clinical parameters following its use and having the advantage of avoiding the second surgical site and patient morbidity following grafting procedures.