Smile Makeover · Latifa H., 30s
A Gum Line, Redrawn
Root coverage across six teeth using a tunnel technique, in a patient who had been told recession was permanent.
- Treatment
- Smile Makeover
- Duration
- 5 months
- Appointments
- 6 visits
- Clinician
- Dr. Adrian Vogel
Patient Goal
What they came in for.
Cold drinks had become genuinely painful, and she disliked how long her teeth had started to look. She had been told by two clinicians that recession could not be reversed.
Initial Condition
What we found.
Miller Class I and II recession across six teeth in the upper left and right quadrants, ranging from 2.4mm to 4.1mm. Exposed root dentine with marked cold sensitivity. Thin gingival biotype throughout. No periodontal pockets and no bone loss between the teeth, which is the factor that determines whether root coverage is achievable — and it was in her favour.
Final Result
Where it finished.
Mean root coverage of 92% across six sites, with complete coverage on four of them. Cold sensitivity resolved entirely. Gingival biotype converted from thin to thick, which is the change that prevents the recession from returning. Stable at the twelve-month review.
Patient Experience
In their words.
She described the palatal donor site as the only genuinely uncomfortable part, and that for about four days. What surprised her was how quickly the sensitivity went — within two weeks of the first quadrant, before she could see any difference in the mirror.
The plan, before anything started.
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Phase 01
Cause first
Brushing technique corrected and a soft brush introduced for eight weeks before any surgery, since the recession was abrasion-driven.
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Phase 02
Staged surgery
Two quadrants treated separately, ten weeks apart, using a tunnel technique with connective tissue grafts.
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Phase 03
Microsurgery
All work performed under magnification with 7-0 sutures, which is what makes the result predictable rather than hopeful.
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Phase 04
Biotype conversion
The grafts thicken the tissue as well as covering the roots, which is what stops the recession recurring.
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Phase 05
Maintenance
Three-monthly supportive visits for the first year, with recession re-measured at each.
Treatment process
What actually happened, in order.
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Weeks 0 — 8
Technique correction and desensitising. Recession re-measured at week eight to confirm it had stopped progressing before we tried to reverse it.
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Week 9
Right quadrant: tunnel prepared without vertical incisions, connective tissue harvested from the palate, graft threaded through and coronally positioned.
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Weeks 10 — 12
Healing with no brushing at the site, chlorhexidine only. Sutures removed at day fourteen.
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Week 19
Left quadrant treated identically. Right quadrant measured at 94% root coverage.
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Week 22
Sutures out. Sensitivity already resolved on the right side, which she noticed before any measurement confirmed it.
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Month 5
Final assessment: mean root coverage 92% across all six sites, with biotype converted from thin to thick.
The same mouth.
Photographed under identical lighting, 5 months apart
- 92%
- Mean root coverage
- 6
- Sites treated
- Thin → thick
- Biotype converted
Technology used
What it took.
- Microsurgical tunnel technique
- Connective tissue grafting
- Magnification and 7-0 suturing
- Digital recession charting
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Every case here began with one hour.
An examination, your own images on screen, and a written plan with a price. Whether you proceed is a separate decision, made later.
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