Apically Positioned Flap Technique for Crown Lengthening Procedure

• Published in: International dental journal 2024-10, Vol.74, p.S277-S277
• Main Authors: Yılmaz, Meltem, Ipek, Fikret
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0020-6539
• DOI: 10.1016/j.identj.2024.07.219

Dentists are often faced with clinical conditions requiring exposure of subgingivally located deep restorative margins, increase of supragingival tooth dimension of short crowns, and correction of excessive gingival display and discrepant gingival margins. Clinical crown lengthening is a surgical procedure focused on the treatment of intact teeth through osteotomy reconstruction or apical repositioning of the gingival tissue with restorative methods. It can be used therapeutically, orthodontically, or anywhere. A 22-year-old female patient applied to our clinic with the Complaint that her tooth number 13 in her mouth was short. It was decided to make a crown length extension operation. Since the measurements showed that the keratinized tissue width was insufficient, an apically positioned flap (APF) technique was chosen. After an intrasulcular incision was made with a 15c scalpel, the half-thickness flap, including the keratinized tissue, was reflected with two vertical incisions extending towards the base. Using 5.0 non-resorbable polyamide suture, the flap was sutured as desired using interrupted and horizontal matres sutures. The APF technique is recommended in cases where a surgery procedure may lead to the removal of all or a large portion of the existing attached gingiva or when pocket elimination is also required. APF is also a technique that allows increased keratinized mucosa in a predictable manner. The APF is a technique used in many operations for crown lengthening. In this case, crown lengthening was performed using the APF technique and the clinical crown appearance was successfully increased while preserving the keratinized gingiva.