Comparison of Gingival Recession of Mandibular Incisors of Class III Patients Immediately after Compensatory or Surgical Orthodontic Treatment

Abstract Objective  This study aimed to compare gingival recession in mandibular anterior teeth in patients with Class III malocclusion, immediately after compensatory or surgical orthodontic treatment. Materials and Methods  The sample consisted of 40 patients with Class III malocclusion, divided into two groups: Group 1 (compensatory), 20 patients treated with compensatory orthodontics, with a mean initial age of 20.26 years (standard deviation [SD] . = 7.44), mean final age of 23.07 years (SD = 7.32), and mean treatment time of 2.81 years (SD =0.84). Group 2 (surgical), who undergone orthodontic–surgical treatment, with a mean initial age of 23.08 years (SD =5.48), mean final age of 25.43 years (SD =5.12), and mean treatment time of 2.35 years (SD =1.56). Intraoral photographs taken before and after removal of the fixed orthodontic appliance were used to measure the gingival recession, from the cervical of the mandibular incisors from the most cervical point of the gingival margin to the cementoenamel junction. In the initial and final cephalograms, the position of the mandibular incisors was measured. The intergroup comparison was performed using the independent t -test. Results  The results showed that there was no statistically significant difference in the gingival recession at the beginning, at the end, and of changes with treatment between the compensatory and surgical groups. Conclusion  It was concluded that the compensatory and surgical orthodontic treatments for Class III malocclusion showed similar results regarding the gingival recession of the mandibular incisors.