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Gingival biotype as an indicator for the buccal bone thickness - a systematic review of the literature

Evidence-Based Dentistry (2021)Cite this article

A Correction to this article was published on 25 March 2022

Abstract

Introduction A relationship between thin gingiva and thin buccal bone has been proposed but concrete evidence for this is lacking. This study was undertaken to assess the reliability of measuring gingival thickness in estimating the buccal bone thickness.

Objectives To answer the following PICO question: do periodontally healthy individuals exhibit any correlation between gingival biotype and buccal/labial/facial bone thickness?

Data sources and selection An electronic search was performed in PubMed and Embase databases. English language articles that have met the inclusion and exclusion criteria were selected. Only observational studies were considered. Since the studies have demonstrated heterogeneity, conducting a meta-analysis was not possible, so the results were synthesised using a vote counting method and narrative synthesis.

Data synthesis After screening the titles and abstracts, 13 studies which met the study criteria were included in the systematic review. Out of these 13 studies, nine studies assessed only the maxillary anterior/premolars; one study assessed the mandibular anterior, and three studies assessed both maxillary and mandibular anterior/premolars.

Conclusions The findings of this systematic review indicated that the gingival biotype may be a reliable indicator for estimating the thickness of buccal bone in maxillary anterior. However, its relation to the buccal bone thickness in mandible is unclear.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to express our gratitude to Professor Mark Bartold for his constant support and encouragement.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Postgraduate Student, Department of Periodontics, Nitte (Deemed to be University), AB Shetty Memorial Institute of Dental Sciences, Mangalore, Karnataka, 575018, India

    Raghavendra Vamsi Anegundi

  2. Additional Professor, Department of Periodontics, Nitte (Deemed to be University), AB Shetty Memorial Institute of Dental Sciences, Mangalore, Karnataka, 575018, India

    Santhosh B. Shenoy

  3. Senior Lecturer, Army College of Dental Sciences, Secunderabad, Telangana, India

    Anahita Punj

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  1. Raghavendra Vamsi Anegundi
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  2. Santhosh B. Shenoy
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Contributions

Raghavendra Vamsi Anegundi: data sources, data selection, data extraction, data synthesis and interpretation, preparing the manuscript and proof reading. Santhosh B Shenoy: data selection, data synthesis and interpretation, preparing the manuscript and proof reading. Anahita Punj: data selection, data synthesis and interpretation, preparing the manuscript and proof reading.

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Correspondence to Santhosh B. Shenoy.

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Anegundi, R., Shenoy, S. & Punj, A. Gingival biotype as an indicator for the buccal bone thickness - a systematic review of the literature. Evid Based Dent (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41432-021-0206-y

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