title: Gingival Biotype Assessment in a Healthy Periodontium: Transgingival Probing Method.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Gingival biotype is the thickness of the gingiva in the faciopalatal dimension. It has a significant impact on the outcome of the restorative, regenerative and implant therapy. It has been suggested that a direct co-relation exists with the susceptibility of gingival recession followed by any surgical procedure. So, the study was aimed to assess gingival biotype in different age groups of males and females using transgingival probing method.
  
  
  METHODS
  Gingival thickness (GT) was evaluated in 336 patients including males and females of different age groups. The latter was based on the transparency of the periodontal probe through the gingival margin while probing the buccal sulcus. Final data collected was then used for statistical analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A significant difference was found between males and females with males showing thick biotype. Out of the total samples 76.9% of males showed thick biotype compared to 13.3 % of females which was statistically significant.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This was probably one of the few attempts to correlate gingival biotype with different age groups in males and females. A clear thick gingiva was found in more than two-third of the male subjects whereas majority of female subjects showed thin biotype. Also, it was seen that in females, the gingival biotype varies with age unlike in male.
authors.affiliation: Professor and Head of the Department, Department of Periodontology and Implantology, Mahatama Jyotiba Phule Rohailkhand University, Institute of Dental Sciences , Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, India .
authors.forename: R G Shiva
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Manjunath
authors.affiliation: Post Graduate Student, Department of Periodontology and Implantology, Mahatama Jyotiba Phule Rohailkhand University, Institute of Dental Sciences, Bareilly , Uttar Pradesh, India .
authors.forename: Anju
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rana
authors.affiliation: Post Graduate Student, Department of Periodontology and Implantology, Mahatama Jyotiba Phule Rohailkhand University, Institute of Dental Sciences , Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, India .
authors.forename: Arijit
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sarkar
keywords: Gingival thickness; Periodontal therapy