Bridge Flap Technique- A Single Step Solution to Multiple Mucogingival Problems

Gingival recession is a common problem in periodontal practice today. There are many causes that lead to gingival recession and there are also numerous different surgical techniques to manage this problem including laterally sliding flaps, free gingival grafts, coronally positioned flaps, connective tissue grafts, guided tissue regeneration, and tissue engineering. When esthetic is the prime concern it is essential to have a good soft tissue to tooth relationship to ensure an ideal emergence profile. The main objective of the periodontal plastic surgery is to correct and re-establish such a relationship. The procedures presented in the literature in the past half a century has proved to be effective in pursuing the goal of covering exposed root surfaces. These surgical solutions, although possessing their own merits, posed certain problems; chiefly, their insufficiency to treat additional problems concurrently. A single-step solution to mucogingival problems by a surgical interference, namely the "bridge flap procedure," is the continuance of the same endeavor. The following case presents a cost-effective single-step technique to correct multiple mucogingival problems at the same time with less morbidity to donor tissues and also evaluates the corrections gained by this bridge flap procedure.