Clinical assessment of periodontal dressings

Forty-one patients requiring gingivectomy in one or more areas were used for a clinical evaluation of three different periodontal dressings. Sixty-five operations were performed. Whenever possible different dressings were tested in the same patient. The type of dressing was chosen randomly, applied by one operator and left in place for 1 week. The patients were supplied with analgetic tablets. At day 7 the condition of the dressing was evaluated before removal. The patients' subjective experiences of pain, swelling, bleeding and fever, as well as use of pain relieving tablets, were recorded. The wound was evaluated with regard to the degree of epithelialization, presence of denuded bone and granulation tissue. The tendency to bleeding and the sensitivity of the teeth to a water spray (15 degrees C) were tested. At day 14 and 21 the same evaluation procedure was repeated. In addition the presence of plaque in the operated area was assessed. One of the dressings more frequently induced pain and swelling than the others. Tablet consumption was also higher when this dressing had been used. No statistically significant differences were found in the clinical assessment of wound healing, tendency to bleeding and the sensitivity of teeth.