Effect of microneedling and injectable platelet-rich fibrin on gingival phenotype – A case series

Introduction: Gingival phenotype is a crucial determinant of the periodontium. It not only maintains the health of the tissue but also plays a decisive role in the prediction of periodontal treatment outcomes. Thin gingival phenotype poses certain risks of poor periodontal treatment outcome in cases of implant, coronally advanced flap, and other root coverage procedures. Thus it becomes the duty of the clinician to deal with such cases by prior planning treatments which can improve the gingival phenotype and thereby enhancing the postperiodontal treatment outcomes to benefit patients. In this case series, a nonsurgical treatment modality microneedling (MN) and injectable platelet-rich fibrin (i-PRF) are employed in an attempt to increase the thickness of thin gingival phenotype. Methods: Five systemically healthy patients with thin gingival phenotypes were included in this study. The lower anterior teeth with split-mouth study pattern have been randomly allocated to nonsurgical treatment modality, i.e., MN alone and MN along with i-PRF. All the patients were followed up for 9 months. Outcomes Assessed: Gingival thickness (GT), Width of Keratinized Tissue (WKT), oral hygiene index, gingival index (GI), the patient reported outcome measures. Results: Both the groups showed an increase in the thickness of gingiva in 9-month follow-up. The mean increase of 0.62 mm in thickness was seen in Group 1 (42%), whereas Group 2 showed a 0.34 mm (27.3%) of increment. No difference is seen with respect to the change in the width of keratinized gingiva in both groups. Conclusion: MN along with i-PRF can provide an efficient nonsurgical option to clinicians to increase GT in cases of thin gingival phenotype.