Management of soft tissue ridge deformities with acellular dermal matrix. Clinical approach and outcome after 6 months of treatment

Background: Soft tissue ridge defects often hamper ideally shaped artificial crowns and are basically treated using autogenous soft tissue grafts or alloplastic materials. These approaches present disadvantages such as the necessity of creating additional surgical fields to harvest the graft and the requirement of primary closure, which may reduce ridge height. This investigation evaluated the use of acellular dermal matrix (ADM) in the treatment of soft tissue ridge defects. Methods: Eight patients, non-smokers with noncontributory medical history, provided 18 sites corresponding to missing teeth in the anterior maxillary arch. The ideal horizontal gain (desired gain) was waved up in study casts, which served as templates for construction of modified acrylic stents with orthodontic wires. These stents served as references for ideal horizontal gain and also as fixed reference points for further evaluation The distance from the orthodontic wire to the buccal plate of the defect also represented its baseline horizontal component. Vertical variations were evaluated with another stent and, in this case, no desired gain was considered. After raising partial-thickness flaps, the ADM material was rehydrated and folded to fill the defect and reproduce the desired gain. Flaps were sutured with no tension, and part of the material was intentionally Left exposed to avoid pressure on the incision line and prevent height loss. Patients used local and systemic antimicrobials, and the sutures were removed at 7 days. Results: Evaluations were carried out at 30 days, and 3 and 6 months, and all sites healed uneventfully. Neither infection nor significant pain was reported by the patients, and the material was covered by tissue at about 21 days. Mean horizontal gain of 1.72 +/- 0.59 mm (58.5%) at 6 months and mean shrinkage of 1.22 +/- 0.46 mm (41.4%) were observed. There was a mean improvement in vertical gain of only 0.61 +/- 0.77 mm, although 66.7% of the treated sites showed a 1 to 2 mm gain. Clinically, the total gain in the subjects was very effective and matched the receptor tissues nicely. Conclusions: ADM may be a suitable material for the treatment of soft tissue ridge deformities due to its biocompatibility, color matching, and horizontal gain. Additional controlled, comparative trials are necessary to establish its advantages and potential compared to autogenous soft tissue techniques.