[Experimental studies on morphological changes of microvascular architecture following the free gingival autograft on...

The purpose of the present studies was to examine the healing process following the free gingival autograft placed on the recipient bed either with or without periosteum in 54 adult mongrel dogs with healthy periodontium. A recipient bed was prepared on denuded alveolar bone in a definite portion of the attached gingiva of the right maxillary canine tooth, and the graft was taken from the attached gingiva of the left maxillary canine and transplanted in the recipient bed. Morphological changes were observed by means of vascular corrosion casts on the postoperatively 3rd, 5th, 14th, 21st, 28th, 42nd, 56th and 84th day. The healing process following the free gingival autograft on the denuded alveolar bone showed that this graft survived in its margin by recirculation from the cut margin of the recipient bed, and in its center the necrotic tissue changed to granulation tissue, which gradually cicatrized. This was different from the healing process following the free gingival autograft on periosteum, in which the graft was survived entirely by recirculation from the vascular plexus of the periosteum on the recipient bed. This may help to restore the function proper.