The Comparison of the outcome of free gingival graft and Alloderm on the width of keratinized gingiva

Considering the existence of recognized complication following free gingival graft as well as a lot of reports referring to use of Alloderm for increasing the keratinized gingival width, the aim of this study was to compare the outcome of two mentioned surgical methods among patients referred to Dental Faculty, Shahid Beheshti University. In this controlled clinical trial and Split Mouth study, conducted on 13 patients requiring to increase keratinized gingival width, the studied teeth divided randomly into control (free gingival graft) and case (AlloDerm®) groups. Keratinized gingival width was measured before surgery and in the first and third month post surgery. Data were subjected to paired t tests. Three month after grafting, a 2×3 mm biopsy of gingival tissue was obtained from the control and case side and sent pathology laboratory in 10% formalin solution after fixing and hydrating and preparing microscopic specimen, the gingival biopsy was dyed with H&E, then the data from light microscopic evaluation was compared between case and control side. FGG and AlloDerm® techniques resulted in an increased keratinized gingival width (6.1±0.9 versus 3.3±0.8 respectively) (p<0.05) the amount of contraction in third month were (39±0.9% versus 67±0.8% respectively) (p<0.05). The AlloDerm® was less effective and less predictable than the free gingival graft in terms of increasing keratinized gingival width due to considerable shrinkage. The esthetic results using AlloDerm® might be better than those using free gingival graft.