ABSTRACT:
The gingival morphology of the maxillary anterior region plays an important role in determining the final aesthetic outcome as it is associated with the outcomes of periodontal therapy, root coverage procedures and implant esthetics.1 Biotype defined as part of body having the same genotype. The identification of the gingival biotype may be important in clinical practice since difference in gingival and osseous architecture have been shown to exhibit a significant impact on the outcome of restorative therapy.2 The stability of the osseous crest and soft tissue is directly proportional to the thickness of the bone and gingival tissue. The term gingival or periodontal phenotype has recently been coined by Seibert and Lindhe3 to address a common clinical observation of great variation in thickness and width of facial keratinized tissue and they categorized the gingiva into thick and thin. The thick gingiva is characterized as bulky, slightly scalloped gingival margins with short wide teeth and the thin gingiva is characterized by highly scalloped gingival margins with slender teeth.2,3 Claffey and Shanley4 defined that the gingival tissue biotype is thin if gingival thickness is <1.5 mm and thick if its thickness is = 2 mm. It is a widely accepted clinical impression that a thin, highly-scalloped gingiva tends to recede from source of irritation (artificial crown margin or microbial irritants) and gingival recession often occurs following traumatic or surgical injury.