Soft tissue re‐growth after osseous resective surgery with and without fibre retention technique. Four‐year follow‐up of a randomized clinical trial

Abstract Aim The aim of this study was to compare the clinical outcomes and soft tissue rebound following Fibre Retention Osseous Resective Surgery (FibRe ORS ) and Osseous Resective Surgery ( ORS ) over a 48‐month period. Materials and Methods Thirteen chronic periodontitis patients, displaying two contra‐lateral posterior sextants with residual intrabony defects ≤3 mm in single‐rooted or multi‐rooted teeth with no or grade I furcation involvement, were treated in a split‐mouth study model. ORS procedure was randomly applied on one side, while FibRe ORS on the contra‐lateral side. Clinical measurements were recorded at 12 and 48 months after surgery. Results All 13 patients were available for the 48‐month recall. At this time point, probing depth ( PD ) and keratinized tissue changes did not significantly differ between treatments. FibRe ORS ‐treated sites exhibited less gingival recession than ORS ‐treated sextants (2.1 ± 0.3 versus 2.5 ± 0.4 mm, p = .001), but comparable coronal soft tissue rebound. The mean difference of 0.4 ± 0.3 mm was consistent with higher amount of bone resection in the ORS group (0.92 ± 0.11 versus 0.38 ± 0.09 mm, p < .001). Conclusion FibRe ORS resulted in similar PD changes and soft tissue rebound compared with ORS in posterior teeth with no or limited furcation involvement.