Histological Comparison of Gingival Tissue Reaction to Vicryl and Silk Sutures

  Suturing is a common procedure during surgeries to fix surgical flaps to improve tissue integration during healing phase. The aim of this study was to make a histological comparison of gingival tissue reaction in the vicinity of silk and vicryl suture materials during the initial healing phase in crown lengthening surgeries. The present double-blind, randomized clinical trial had a paired design method. This study was performed on 24 sites in 12 patients with an age range of 20-40 years, needing crown lengthening surgery of maxillary premolars and molars. The subjects had no systemic problems or gingival inflammation at the surgical sites. The sutures were placed in the surgical sites 7 days before the crown lengthening procedure. Vicryl and silk sutures were placed on the mesial or distal gingival papilla of each tooth randomly. All the suture materials used in this study were identical in term of physical dimensions (4-0). After 7 days, during crown lengthening surgery, gingival tissues along with suture materials were harvested for histological examination. Then the severity of inflammation and infiltration of inflammatory cells were evaluated in tissue specimens using Wilcoxon test (α = 0.05). The study indicated that vicryl suture material resulted in less infiltration of the inflammatory cells in the gingival tissues compared to silk sutures (p value = 0.001). Considering the lower infiltration of inflammatory cells in the vicinity of vicryl suture material, it seems in procedures such as oral surgeries, vicryl suture could be an appropriate alternative for silk material