Black Ethnicity Influences Gingival and Bone Thickness: A Cross-Sectional Study.

The aim of the present study was to compare by cone beam computerized tomography (CBCT) the influence of white and black ethnicity on the gingival and bone thickness. Eighty-four individuals, aged between 18 and 59 years old, of both genders, were divided into black (BG n=42) and white groups (WG n=42) and analyzed from June 2020 to April 2021. The gingival and bone thickness were measured using CBCT in all maxillary anterior teeth. T test, Mann-whitney, chi-square, Pearson's correlation and Spearman's correlation were used for comparisons and correlations with a 5% significance level. The black individuals had mean gingival (1.45mm±0.29) and buccal bone plate (1.07mm±0.21) significantly (gingival: p<0.0001, bone: p=0.0002) thicker than white individuals (1.17mm±0.28 and 0.91mm±0.17, respectively). The variables presented greater values for the male individuals. A positive correlation between the thickness of buccal bone plate and gingiva for was found in two teeth in WG (left and right central incisor) and one tooth in BG (left canine). Moreover, a correlation between BBPT and GT immediately below alveolar bone crest (0 mm landmark) was found in four teeth in WG (left and right lateral incisor, left and right central incisor) and BG (left and right canine, left lateral incisor and left central incisor). The black ethnic showed to significantly influence the gingival and buccal bone plate thickness, with black individuals presenting thicker structures than whites.