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Gingival phenotype and its relationship with different clinical parameters: a study in a Dominican adult sample

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Abstract

Objectives

The purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence of thin and thick gingival phenotype (GPh) in a sample of Dominican subjects and correlate it with clinical parameters.

Materials and methods

One-hundred seven periodontal healthy volunteers in the range of 18–73 years were enrolled in the study. GPh was defined by the transparency of a periodontal probe through the buccal gingival margin on the upper right or left central incisor. Clinical periodontal parameters such as keratinized gingiva width (WKG), attached gingiva width (WAG), probing depth (PD), plaque index (PI), and gingival index (GI) were recorded by a calibrated examiner. Frequency distribution of qualitative variables was calculated. For quantitative variables, Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used for comparison of groups.

Results

There was no association between GPh and sex. There were no significant differences between thin and thick GPh regarding age, PD, GI, and interproximal index. The association between tooth morphology and GPh was significant (p = 0.018). Median amount of keratinized gingiva was significantly larger (p = 0.01) in subjects with thin gingival phenotype (median = 6.00 mm) when compared with subjects with thick gingival phenotype (median = 5 mm).

Conclusions

Subjects with thin GPh presented larger WKG. Furthermore, there was an association between tooth morphology and GPh.

Clinical relevance

This is the first study to report the distribution of gingival phenotype and its relationship with different periodontal parameters of a Caribbean population. Our findings can contribute to the clinicians when planning or performing dental procedures.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the Health Pastoral Care, Archdiocese of Santo Domingo, and the Regional Metropolitan Health Service (SRSM, by its initials in Spanish) of the Dominican Republic for their support. Also wish to thank all the dentists, community leaders, and patients for their kind cooperation in this study.

Funding

This study was funded by the Caribbean Oral Health Initiative (COHI).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Periodontology, School of Dentistry, Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra (PUCMM), Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

    James Rudolph Collins, Kenia Veras, Gabriel Ogando & Michael Brache

  2. Department of Periodontology, School of Dentistry, University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil

    Claudio Mendes Pannuti

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  1. James Rudolph Collins
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  2. Claudio Mendes Pannuti
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to James Rudolph Collins.

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Ethics approval and consent to participate

Ethical approval (No. 042–2016) was obtained from the National Board of Bioethics in Health (CONABIOS). All subjects signed an informed consent before enrollment in the study.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Collins, J.R., Pannuti, C.M., Veras, K. et al. Gingival phenotype and its relationship with different clinical parameters: a study in a Dominican adult sample. Clin Oral Invest 25, 4967–4973 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00784-021-03806-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00784-021-03806-x

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