Relationship Between Soft Tissue Volume and Gingival Phenotype: a Novel Classification System

Different classifications to describe alveolar ridge defects have been published over the past years but no single classification has been developed concerning soft tissue volume around teeth or dental implants. Moreover, while several studies investigated the effect of various augmentation techniques and materials on soft tissue volume change and volume stability there is a real gap of knowledge regarding how to evaluate the available soft tissue volume and when to consider it sufficient or deficient which would definitely improve clinical decision making and treatment planing. Therefore, our primary aim was to assess the application of a novel classification system based on the correlation between buccal soft tissue volume and gingival biotypes and, also to assess the sensitivity of such novel method.