Dimensional changes of free gingival graft following cyanoacrylate stabilization

Objective: The aim of this randomized, controlled clinical study was to evaluate and compare the vertical graft height and total graft area within two different stabilization techniques of free gingival graft (FGG) and the clinical parameters in the treatment of insufficient keratinized tissue amount. Materials-Methods: Twenty-four patients were enrolled in the study. Patients were operated with FGG. Grafts were stabilized with either butyl-cyanoacrylate (test group) or non-resorbable sutures (control group). Clinical parameters including full mouth plaque score, full mouth bleeding score, probing depth, keratinized tissue height (KTH), and vertical recession (VR) were measured at baseline and 6 months after surgery. The vertical graft height and total graft area were measured at baseline, 1, 3 and 6 months after surgery. Visual analogue scale (VAS) scores were recorded by patients between days 0-6. Operative times were recorded. Results: KTH increase was statistically significant for both groups (p<0.05) and inter-group comparison showed no statistically significant difference. VR was decreased significantly in both groups with higher creeping in the control group than the test group (p<0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in clinical parameters and inter-group comparisons of graft area parameters. VAS scores showed no statistically significant difference between groups. The operation time of control group was significantly higher than test group (p<0.05). Conclusion: FGG is a successful procedure for increasing KTH, however, use of butyl-cyanoacrylate versus suturing revealed similar graft shrinkage with shorter operative time. Keywords: free gingival graft, cyanoacrylate, shrinkage