Pre-operative phase
palate, transgingival
A thorough pre-operative assessment of all study subjects was carried out to include medical history, dental history and intraoral clinical examination.Pre-operative measurements were taken, including the soft tissue phenotype and the width of keratinized gingiva. The gingival phenotype was examined by transgingival piercing using a needle and an endodontic stopper [The width of keratinized gingiva was measured at the mid-buccal area by a periodontal probeAn impression was taken for all eligible patients to create a study cast, which was used to fabricate a vacuum stent to be used postoperatively to protect the palate’s de-epithelialized connective tissue donor site.