A Systematic Review: Methods of Gingivectomy for Esthetic Marginal Periodontal Tissue Conditioning

This review compared the prognosis of gingivectomy procedures carried out through a scalpel or alternative techniques. An extensive search was performed in the electronic database. Articles were identified according to inclusion criteria. The extracted data from the selected studies were organized in tables and assessed for risk of bias. Ten clinical trial studies were identified. Nine studies used the laser method for gingivectomy, and only one trial was based on the electrosurgical method. Seven studies were at low risk of bias, and three were at high risk. No significant differences were presented in pain and discomfort in the electrosurgical studies. One study reported non-significant differences between electrosurgery and scalpel regarding clinical healing. Based on limited data in this systematic review, the diode laser showed superiority over the scalpel in pain and discomfort postoperatively. In contrast, for PI and GI, the data were insufficient to conclude the results.