Abstract

Background: Maxillary premolar gingival recession may impair esthetics, induce dentin hypersensitivity and complicate plaque control. Objectives: To describe clinical characteristics and evaluate treatment outcomes of maxillary premolar gingival recession using a subepithelial connective tissue graft.

Methods: An uncontrolled clinical interventional study was conducted in 78 patients, with one maxillary premolar selected as the study tooth per patient, treated at Thanh Vu Medic Bac Lieu General Hospital from June 2025 to May 2026. Periodontal parameters were assessed before surgery and at 1, 3 and 6 months after surgery; postoperative pain was assessed using a visual analogue scale (VAS) on days 1, 7 and 14.

Results: Participants aged 35 years or older accounted for 70.5%, and females for 60.3%. Miller class I and II defects accounted for 64.1% and 35.9%, respectively. Visible recession depth decreased from 0.7±0.5 mm at 1 month to 0.1±0.1 mm at 6 months; keratinized tissue increased from 3.2±0.7 mm to 3.8±0.8 mm; attached gingiva increased from 1.9±0.8 mm to 2.7±0.9 mm. Root coverage was 78.2±12.8%, 93.6±3.8% and 97.4±3.2% at 1, 3 and 6 months. The proportion of participants without pain (VAS=0) increased from 21.8% on day 1 to 93.6% on day 14.

Conclusion: Subepithelial connective tissue graft was effective for Miller class I-II maxillary premolar recession after 6 months of follow-up.