Page 79 - Journal of Laser Dentistry 1

The term Mucogingival Surgery was proposed by Friedman in 1957 to indicate any surgery "designed to preserve attached gingiva, to remove frena or muscle attachment, and to increase the depth of the vestibule". The aim of this type of surgery was to maintain an adequate amount of attached gingiva and to prevent continuous loss of attachment. This philosophy was supported by many horizontal observations in humans that confirmed the need for a certain band of attached gingiva to maintain periodontal tissue in a healthy state. Subsequently, clinical and experimental studies by Wennström and Lindhe (1983) demonstrated that as long as plaque buildup is kept under careful control there is no minimum width of keratinised gingiva necessary to prevent the development of periodontal disease. These observations reduce the importance of Mucogingival Surgery. Surgical techniques are used mostly to solve aesthetic problems, since the term "Periodontal Plastic Surgery" has been suggested to indicate surgical procedures performed to correct or eliminate anatomical, developmental or traumatic deformities of the gingiva or alveolar mucosa. More recently the Consensus Report of the American Academy of Periodontology (1996) defines