New cementum appears on root surfaces six to eight weeks after osseous surgery. Therefore, by eight weeks the surgical site has a mature junctional epithelium and a connective tissue attachment that is incorporated into new cementum. Additional healing occurs from eight weeks to six months and involves maturation of connective tissue attachment and change in the orientation of the collagen fiber bundles. Postsurgical stabilization of the gingival margin position is very important, especially in the anterior regions. It is important to understand that different tissue profiles will lead to different post-surgical healing.
Thick tissue results in gingival movement which is coronal postsurgically.
This differs from thin tissue which may recede postsurgically. Therefore, in an aesthetically crucial area, restorative therapy may need to be delayed for up to 20 weeks postsurgically in order to account for true tissue maturation and assure gingival margin stability.