Variation in the Gingival Thickness in Anterior Teeth – A Clinical Study

Objectives: To evaluate the variation in the gingival thickness with regards to age, gender, smoking status and its location in the dental arch
Methods: 100 subjects including both males and females , smokers and non smokers of various age groups ranging from 18-60 years were examined . Under topical anesthesia, the facial gingival thickness was measured by transgingival probing (TGP) using an endodontic reamer in the anterior teeth region of both the arches.
Results: The 100 subjects in the study were divided into three age groups , group (i) :18-24 years , group (ii) : 24-45 years , group (iii) >45 years . They were subdivided into males and females , and males were further divided into smokers and non smokers .The gingival thickness for the three age groups when compared , significant differences were found in between the age groups (i) and (iii) (p=0.038) and groups(ii) and (iii) (p=0.019) for the maxillary arch . And for the mandibular arch, significant difference was found in between the age groups (i) and (iii) (p=0.005) and group (ii) and (iii) (p=0.019) .The gingival thickness was more in males when compared with the females in the maxillary arch (p=0.014) and in the mandibular arch (p=0.004) The gingival thickness of the maxillary arch is comparatively greater than the mandibular arch. The comparison of midbuccal gingival thickness among smokers and non-smokers, which shows that midbuccal thickness in smokers is higher than in non-smoker group (p= 0.0007)
Conclusions: The gingival thickness of the patients in varying age groups was found to be increasing with the increasing age, and it was thicker in males when compared with the females , the thickness was higher in maxillary arch than the mandibular arch. And thickness was increased in smokers than the non smokers