BRIDGING THE GAP A CASE REPORT OF APICALLY POSITIONED FLAP FOR FUNCTIONAL AND ESTHETIC REHABILITATION

The Apically Positioned Flap (APF) is a periodontal surgical procedure used to lengthen the crown, expose the subgingival tooth anatomy for restoration, and improve the aesthetic appearance of the surrounding gums. It is a surgical technique that involves altering the shape of either soft tissue or both soft and hard tissue around one or more teeth for cosmetic or restorative reasons.
Patients with excessive gingival show (a gummy smile) or gingival overgrowth may benefit from esthetic crown lengthening.
Functional crown lengthening is a resective operation that exposes healthy tooth material to support a fresh restoration ande establishes a biologic width at a more apical location than before the surgery. The current technique calls for judicious amounte removal of surrounding hard and soft tissue structures, leaving a tooth exposure that is about 4 mm above the osseous crest.
This amount of tooth exposure is needed to restore the biological width and make it easier to prepare the tooth, ferrule, and marginal seal correctly. Both techniques add more supra gingival tooth structure for cosmetic and/or restorative reasons.