The efficacy of ozone therapy on free gingival graft augmentation around dental implants

Abstract

Aim: The implants exhibiting lack of keratinized mucosa (KM) may be more prone to the early stage of peri-implant infection. The aim of the present study was to evaluate topical ozone therapy on free gingival graft (FGG) healing in terms of augmenting KM around the implants during 6-month follow-up. Material and methods: Thirty patients (16 women and 14 men) with inadequate KM around their implants were randomly allocated to either the ozone group (FGG + Ozone therapy) or the control group (FGG alone). The width and thickness of KM, plaque index (PI), gingival index (GI), probing depth (PD), mucosal recession (MR) and clinical attachment level (CAL) were evaluated at baseline, 1, 3 and 6 months. During 14 days postoperatively, patient’s pain perception was analyzed by using a visual analog scale analog scale (VAS). At 14 days, quality of life was also assessed via the Oral Health Impact Profile-14 (OHIP-14). Results: No significant differences were found between ozone and control groups with respect to KM dimensions at any study follow-up periods (p>0.05). Ozone group provided significantly higher CAL and MR values at 6 months compared to baseline values. Moreover, ozone group exhibited significantly lower GI values compared to the control group at 6 months (p<0.05). No significant difference was observed between the groups for postoperative VAS values and total OHIP-14 scores (p>0.05). Conclusion: Adjunctive ozone therapy did not provide any beneficial impact on the dimension of obtained KM around the implants at 6 months. However, ozone therapy may give rise to less mucosal inflammation around the implants compared to spontaneous healing