Relationship between the width of the zone of keratinized tissue and thickness of gingival tissue in the anterior maxilla

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate whether there is a positive correlation between the width of the zone of gingival keratinized tissue and its thickness. Maxillary right canines, lateral incisors, and central incisors of 60 patients (30 men, 30 women) between the ages of 20 and 35 years were examined. Using an endodontic spacer with a rubber cursor and a digital caliper of 0.01-mm resolution, the values of the width of the zone of gingival keratinized tissue and gingival thickness were obtained. It was observed that the lateral incisor has the largest mean zone of gingival keratinized tissue (5.54 ± 1.09 mm), followed by the central incisor (4.62 ± 1.02 mm) and canine (4.32 ± 1.33 mm). The mean gingival thickness was greater in the central incisor (1.17 ± 0.20 mm), followed by the lateral incisor (1.04 ± 0.24 mm) and canine (0.87 ± 0.27 mm). No statistically significant difference was verified for the mean width of the zone of gingival keratinized tissue and gingival thickness between men and women. A positive correlation between gingival thickness and width of the zone of gingival keratinized tissue was observed in the maxillary canine (Pearson r = 0.398, P < .05), lateral incisor (Pearson r = 0.369, P < .05), and central incisor (Pearson r = 0.492, P < .05). In patients 20 to 35 years of age, there was a positive correlation between gingival thickness and width of the zone of gingival keratinized tissue for the maxillary right canine, lateral incisor, and central incisor.