Pin Hole Surgical Technique: A Nominally Incursive Root Coverage Procedure: An Evidence Based Meta Analysis and Systematic Review

Abstract

Introduction

The concept of Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS) is embracing all aspects of surgical techniques aiming to produce minimal wounds, minimal flap reflection, and gentle handling of the soft and hard tissues. Chao’s Pinhole Surgical Technique (PST) which is a minimally invasive option for treating multiple gum recession. Unlike traditional grafting techniques, PST is incision and suture free. Current meta-analysis is being carried out to check the efficacy of PST based on the previously conducted researches in literature.

Methods:

An extensive literature search was performed in the Cochrane Library, PubMed and EMBASE. The search terms included ‘Gingival Recession’, ‘Pin Hole Technique’, ‘periodontal treatment’ combined with outcomes of interest, including ‘plaque index’, ‘gingival index’, ‘probing pocket depth’, ‘clinical attachment level’, ‘Width of keratinized mucosa’ and ‘Recession depth’. Studies were thoroughly assessed and the similar studies were filtered out to carry out the meta-analysis. There were only 2 similar studies found in the literature where Probing pocket depth [PPD], Clinical Attachment Level [CAL], Width of keratinized tissue and Recession Depth [RD] were measured.

Results:

The mean values varied significantly from the baseline to follow up among all the parameters. Where, the PPD, CAL and RD were found to be decreased significantly at follow up and the width of keratinized tissue increased significantly at follow up compared to baseline.

Conclusion:

The main outcome of comparing the included clinical studies was that the PST achieves non-invasive treatment of the unlimited number of gingival recession defects with high predictable esthetic results in one appointment without donor sites or exposure of the graft, which make PST a promising modality that reaches the periodontist ambition.