Efficacy of hyaluronic acid (hyaluronan) in root coverage procedures as an adjunct to coronally advanced flap in Millers Class I recession: A clinical study

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy of hyaluronic acid (HA) in root coverage procedures as an adjunct to coronally advanced flap (CAF) procedure. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a randomized clinical trial with split mouth design, where 10 patients with 20 sites of Millers Class I recession were treated and followed-up for a period of 6 months. CAF procedure was performed, HA was applied onto the experimental sites before suturing the flap. Recession depth (RD) was measured regularly at baseline 1, 3, 6, 12, and 24 weeks postoperatively. Probing pocket depth (PPD) and clinical attachment level (CAL) were also measured along with RD at baseline and 12 and 24 weeks. RESULTS: There was a significant change in RD, PPD, CAL, and percentage of root coverage in both groups when compared to the baseline values. There was no statistically significant difference between experimental and control group in terms of RD (P = 0.917), PPD (P = 0.917) and CAL (P = 0.761). RD was 3.2 mm ± 0.78 mm in experimental site and control sites 2.9 mm ± 0.73 mm reduced to 1.1 mm ± 0.99 mm in experimental sites and 1.0 mm ± 0.66 mm in control sites. Though, there is no statistically significant difference root coverage in the experimental group appeared to be clinically more stable compared with the control group after 24 weeks. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that use of HA may improve the clinical outcome of root coverage with CAF procedure.