Gingival Stillman's Cleft- Revisited

Abstract

Stillman's clefts are apostrophe shaped indentations extending from and into the gingival margin for varying distances. The etiology of this cleft is still not clear. They may repair spontaneously or persist as surface lesions of deep periodontal pockets that penetrate into the supporting tissues. Here we report a case of stillman's cleft in the mandibular left lateral incisor region treated with de-epithelialisation. How to cite this article: Deepa D , Bhatia G, Srivastava P. Gingival Stillman's Cleft- Revisited. CODS J Dent 2015;7: 93-95.

Surgical Management of Stillman’s Cleft Using Free Gingival Graft

“…1 As the lesion progresses, the plaque control is compromised and therefore may result in the inflammation of the associated oral mucosa. 2 Paul Roscoe Stillman was the first to describe this pattern of gingival cleft which is related to occlusal trauma, it may also be associated with marginal gingivitis or mild periodontitis. 3 Stillman's cleft is classified into 'simple' which are single direction clefts or 'composed' which are multi-directional clefts.…”

“…On the other hand, in cases like the case discussed here, a patient may feel severe discomfort or pain especially when the lesion is associated with inflammation. 8 Prognosis of these clefts is variable depending on the extent of the defects. 9 Lesions that are confined within the connective tissue may be considered reversible and the removal of the causative factor is sufficient to allow the lesion to heal uneventfully, but if the cleft involves the full thickness of the connective tissue as in this case, then the lesion is irreversible and may require surgical intervention.…”