Evaluation of the effect of Surgical Experience Level on the Success of Coronally Position Flap Technique

Gingival recession is treated with mucogingival surgical techniques. The success of mucogingival surgery depends on various factors. One of them is the experience level of the surgeon. There is no study about the effect of the operator's surgical experience level on the mucogingival surgery outcome. The aim of this study to investigate the effect of surgical experience level on coronally advanced flap (CAF) surgery outcomes. Forty systemically healthy patients (divided into 4 chronological groups, n: 10 in each group) with one Miller Class I were included. Patients were treated with CAF. Clinical parameters were recorded before at baseline and at the 6th month. Root covarege (RC) percentage, with of keratinized tissue, clinical attachment level, Oral Health Impact Profile-14, visual analog scale pain (VAS-pain), visual analog scale easthetic (VAS- easthetic), root coverage esthetic score (RES) were recorded follow up periods. Complications were observed in three patients in the first group and in two patients in the second group while no complications happened in the third and fourth groups. Overall the mean RC percentage was 73.6%, and the complete RC percentage was 60%. The mean RC of the groups respectively were 45%, 55%, 86%, 95%. It was found that the percentage of mean and complete RC increased as the level of experience increased (p<0,05). Similarly, it was observed that as the level of operator experience increased; the closure of the gingival recession depth and width (p <0.05) and RES scores increased while the duration of the surgical procedure decreased significantly. When VAS pain scores decreased day by day, with no difference between the groups (p> 0.05). In conclusion, the results show that the level of surgical experience had a significant impact on the success of the CAF technique. These results may be informative for the periodontology education programs. Key words: Surgical experience, gingival recession, coronally advanced flap, learning curve, periodontal plastic surgery.