The deceptive nature of root coverage results.

BACKGROUND The purposes of this article are to: 1) propose a new method of reporting root coverage data; 2) compare existing root coverage techniques using the proposed data analysis method; and 3) discuss additional refinements to root coverage data analysis. Past studies have equated percent defect coverage with root coverage. This gives deceptive information about the magnitude of the residual recession defect. Defect coverage of 67% could actually amount to 92% root coverage. METHODS The use of mean root lengths will permit the determination of true root coverage data. This should be reported in addition to defect coverage data. Also including frequency data will provide a better assessment of the predictability of the surgical techniques. RESULTS A comparison table of root coverage studies demonstrates that the connective tissue graft is the most effective and predictable method that has been tested. CONCLUSIONS Further refinements to data analysis may help researchers identify the determinants of predictable root coverage.