Purpose: This systematic review addressed flap designs in endodontic surgery which can have an impact on the Oral Health Related Quality of Life (OHRQoL).
Materials and methods: Four electronic databases were searched (PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and Scopus) to identify all studies up to November 2019 that investigated the effect of flap designs on gingival recession and quality of life among healthy adults.
Results: The initial search identified 2701 references. Ten studies were included in this systematic review; two were randomised clinical trials and eight were non-randomised clinical trials. Studies showed that sulcular incision increases the risk of gingival recession and decreases OHRQoL. Two studies were included in the meta-analysis in relation to gingival recession. The pooled results demonstrated that submarginal incision showed a decreased weighted mean difference in gingival recession by 0.31 mm (95% CI: 0.12 - 0.51) (p = 0.002) compared to sulcular incision.
Conclusion: Sulcular incision flap unfavourably affect the level of gingiva and OHRQoL. All nonrandomised studies had a statistically significant bias and the sample sizes in all studies were relatively small. More gingival recession and lower OHRQoL were associated with sulcular incision. Additional investigations are warranted to provide more evidence.
Keywords: flap incision; gingival recession; oral health quality of life; surgical endodontic treatment; systematic review.