Comparison of the Efficacy of Platelet-rich Fibrin and Connective Tissue Graft in Interdental Papilla Reconstruction

Comparison of the Efficacy of Platelet-rich Fibrin and Connective Tissue Graft in Interdental Papilla Reconstruction: A Retrospective Trial

Aim: To evaluate the efficacy of platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) or connective tissue graft (CTG) in papilla reconstruction (PR) with semilunar incision (SI) technique.

Materials and Methods: A total of 55 sites (27 CTG and 28 PRF) from 20 patients who underwent PR with either PRF or CTG placed with SI in the maxillary anterior region were included in the study. Baseline (BL) and follow-up (T1( first month), T3 (third month), T6 (sixth month)) clinical data including periodontal evaluations (gingival index (GI), plaque index (PI), papillary bleeding index, pocket depth (PD), keratinized tissue width (KTW), gingival recession), papilla-associated recordings (alveolar crest-interdental contact point (AC-IC), alveolar crest-papilla tip (AC-PT), papilla tip-interdental contact point (PT-IC), papilla height loss (PHL), interdental tissue stroke (ITS) and papilla presence index (PPI)) and patient satisfaction were analyzed.

PT-IC was taken as the primary outcome measure. Normal distribution was assessed by histogram and Shapiro-Wilk test. Continuous variables were represented as mean±SD whereas the categorical variables were reported as numbers and percentages. Chi-square test was used for the comparison of the categorical variables. Since the data was normally distributed, Friedman test was used to analyze the time-dependent changes in both groups and the inter-group comparisons were made with Mann-Whitney test. Generalized Estimating Equation was used for analyzing qualitative and quantitative data, time-dependent changes, and the difference between two methods. Data analysis was performed in IBM SPSS Statistics Version 23, and p<0.05 was considered as a significance threshold.

Inclusion Criteria:

• All selected patients had consent for using their data.
• The data of the patients who underwent PR surgery by one of the authors (S.O.B.) using SI with either PRF or CTG in the maxillary anterior teeth having contact points,
• at least 2 mm keratinized tissue width (KTW) with probing depth (PD)≤ 3 mm adjacent to the open embrasure were included.
• It was ensured that all baseline (BL) and follow-up data were available and all patients received a comprehensive phase I periodontal treatment prior to the PR procedure.

Exclusion Criteria:

• the patients with systemic problems,
• having medications known to influence the periodontium
• Using tobacco/alcohol
• The relevant regions did not have endodontic problems/needs, caries and history of periodontal surgery.