Evaluation of the effect of different platelet concentrations and autogenous soft tissue grafts applications on gingival thickness in patients with thin gingival biotypes

Aim: Gingival recession is a complex process and many factors play a role in its etiology. Thin gingival biotype is one of the etiological factors of gingival recession. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of CTG and different platelet concentrations such as CGF and PRF on GT in patients with thin gingival biotypes. Material and Method: The study included a total of 60 operation regions from 15 healthy and non-smoker patients. CTG, PRF and CGF were applied to each 20 regions. After the initial periodontal treatments of the patients, periodontal parameters such as PI, GI, PD, GR, vertical WKG and initial GT were recorded. The thickness of the grafts and membranes used during the operation were noted. All the periodontal parameters were reevaluated in the 1st and 3rd months. Results: In our study, it was observed that the average GT increase values of CTG, PRF and CGF methods were 0.86, 0.55 and 0.51 mm, respectively. These methods were found to be effective in increasing the thickness of gingiva. No significant difference was found between the applications when evaluated in terms of decrease in GR. The increase in vertical WKG was significantly higher in the CTG group than in the PRF and CGF groups at the 3rd month after the operations. Conclusion: Within the limitations of this study, although PRF and CGF were not as successful as the CTG in terms of increasing the GT, they provided a thick biotype formation according to the initial value in the 1st and 3rd months. Key Words: Concentrated growth factors, connective tissue graft, gingival biotype, platelet concentrations, platelet-rich fibrin