Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
European Journal of Research in Dentistry, cilt.9, sa.1, ss.55-63, 2025 (Hakemli Dergi)
Objectives: Aging affects wound healing, reducing fibroblast activity, collagen synthesis, and slowing wound contraction and epithelialization. This pilot study aimed to assess the effects of age on early clinical healing outcomes following free gingival graft (FGG) operation. Materials and Methods: The study included systemically healthy 10 patients; 5 patients in young group (aged: 20-35) and 5 patients in adult group (aged: 50-65) with ≤2 mm keratinized gingival width (KGW) at mandibular anterior region. A recipient bed was prepared. The FGG harvested from the palatal area was sutured to the recipient site with 6/0 silk sutures. Plaque and gingival index, probing depth, clinical attachment level (CAL), bleeding on probing and KGW were recorded before and 3 months after operation. Vertical and horizontal dimensions of graft (HDG) were recorded during surgery and 3 months after operation. Graft area (GA) was measured on standard photographs with a Java-based program at baseline, 2 weeks and 3 months follow-ups. The shrinkage percentage (SP) was calculated based on the reduction of GA. Results: Clinical measurements before and 3 months after operation were similar between groups (p>0.05) except CAL was higher in the adult group on 3 months (p<0.05). Statistically significant gain was found in CAL and KGW in both groups on 3 months (p<0.05). SP was significantly lower in the adult group than the young group at all post-surgical time points (p<0.05), and a negative correlation was found between age, HDG and SP (p<0.05).. Conclusions: The present study suggests that age may affect the shrinkage of FGG at early healing stages.