A retrospective investigation of the factors affecting the healing of palatinal wounds in SDG operations

Free gingival graft (FGG) is one of the methods applied for keratinized gingival deficiency. The palatal mucosa is generally preferred as the donor site for SDG, and because of the open wound surface in the donor area, it creates a feeling of discomfort in the patients after the operation. The aim of this study is to examine the efficacy of hyaluronic acid on epithelialization and pain sensation in the donor site after FGG. In our study, two groups were formed as Control Group (n=34) and Study (hyaluronic acid) Group (n=29). Healing in the FGG donor site was evaluated by VAS score and pain and bleeding on palpation (BP) on day 3, VAS score on days 7, 14, 21 and 28 with pain, foaming test with PK and H2O2. IBM SPSS Statistics 22 program was used for statistical analysis. At the end of the study, the VAS score of the Control Group on the 3rd, 7th, 14th and 21st days was found to be statistically significantly higher than the Study Group (p<0.05). BP of the Control Group on the 7th and 14th days was found to be statistically significantly higher than the Study Group (p<0.05). The foaming test with H2O2 on the 14th and 21st days of the Control Group was found to be statistically significantly higher than the Study Group (p<0.05). There was no statistical difference between the groups between the VAS score on the 28th day and the H2O2 and foaming test (p>0.05). There was no statistical difference between the groups in BP on the 21st day (p>0.05). According to the results of our study, it has been shown that hyaluronic acid applied after the FGG operation will produce positive results on parameters such as pain, BP and the foaming test with H2O2, which shows tissue epitalization, in the early stages of healing of the donor area. Key Words: Free Gingival Graft, Wound Healing, Hyaluronic Acid