April 2022

Aim: De-epithelialized gingival graft (DGG) is recommended due to its simplicity and successful outcomes. However, donor site morbidity still poses a problem. The aim of this trial was to evaluate the effectiveness of gelatin sponge-cyanoacrylate (GS-CY) combination at donor site healing. Materials and Methods: DGG donor sites were treated with either GS (control) (n=21) or GS+CY (test) (n=21). Palatal tissue thickness, graft dimensions, working time (WT), primary bleeding time were recorded. Reported quantity of analgesics (QA), secondary bleeding (SB), and pain perception (PP) during the first week. Sensation loss (SL), color match (CM) and epithelization level (EL) at donor site were evaluated on days 7, 14, 21, and 28. Results: SB was lower in GS+CY during the first three days (p<0.05). GS+CY showed less PP throughout the seven days period (p<0.004). QA was lower in GS+CY group but the inter-group difference reached to statistical significance at only day 1 (p=0.003). EL and CM did not exhibit any inter-group difference (p>0.05). Conclusions: GS-CY combination is a strong candidate to improve donor site healing by showing less WT, PP, and SB findings. However, profits seem to be associated with its isolation property rather than increased EL. Further studies are needed to understand its efficacy on healing.