Patient-reported Outcomes of Donor Site Healing Using Different Palatal Protection Techniques

Summary

This study has been initiated to evaluate the question, "What is the best way to protect the palate after a gum graft is removed?" The overall objective is to determine if there is a difference in PROMs of donor site healing using different palatal post-operative protection techniques.

Conditions

• Mucosal Erosion
• Gingival Recession

Interventions

OTHER

Visual Analog scale (VAS) questionnaire

A Visual Analog Scale (VAS) questionnaire is a type of self-report tool where respondents mark a point on a continuous line to indicate the intensity of a subjective experience, like pain, fatigue, or happiness, between two extreme anchor points (e.g., "no pain" at one end and "worst possible pain" at the other), allowing for a more nuanced response compared to a standard Likert scale; essentially, it measures the degree of a symptom along a visual continuum.

OTHER

Vacuum-formed retainer (VFR) technique

On the day of surgery, the stent will be positioned to cover the palate and the anterior and posterior teeth, including their occlusal and buccal surfaces bilaterally, to provide retention. Vacuum-formed retainers are a common clinical practice used after harvesting a palatal graft, in order to provide a mechanical barrier to reduce post-operative pain.

OTHER

3-D printed acrylic resin stent (3DS) technique

On the day of surgery, the previously made palatal stent (3DS) will be placed in position and stabilized by mechanical retention in the palate and palatal surface of the maxillary teeth, bilaterally.

OTHER

Flowable resin composite stent (FRC) technique

On the day of surgery, a layer of flowable composite will be added, covering all the wound dimensions, restricted to the wound (no extension to the adjacent teeth). Flowable composite has been shown to help reduce pain using the same principal of providing a mechanical barrier to protect the palatal wound from the oral cavity

OTHER

Photographs of the patient's palate

At the 14-day, 30-day and 3-month follow-up visits, photographs of the patient's palate (Canon EOS 60D DSLR, Canon, USA) will be taken for healing evaluation as well as intraoral scans (TRIOS 4, 3Shape) of the palatal wound for linear and volumetric changes analysis.

OTHER

Measuring graft dimensions

The graft dimensions will be measured with the use of a periodontal probe and recorded on the data collection form. The professional preference in regard to technique applied and the time spent by the surgeon to adjust the stent intraorally will also be recorded in the same form.

OTHER

Chairside Polymer Stent

The stent will be placed directly in the roof of the mouth. Instructions will be provided to the patient about how to remove, place and clean the stent. The patients will be instructed to wear the stent for the first 3 days and per their personal preference on the 4th day and after.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Virginia Commonwealth University

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Rafael Amorim Cavalcanti de Siqueira · Virginia Commonwealth University

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2025-03-07

Primary Completion

2026-07-31

Completion

2026-07-31

Countries

• United States

Study Locations