Testing the Efficacy of Photobiomodulation Therapy and Hyaluronic Acid Gel on Post-surgical Healing After Gingivectomy

Efficacy of Hyaluronic Acid Gel and Photobiomodulation Therapy on Wound Healing After Surgical Gingivectomy: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial

This study consists of random patient selection and allocating them in 3 different groups. After being fit to be included according to the protocol's criteria and signing an informed consent, patients will be distributed after performing a dental surgery known as gingivectomy. Gingivectomy has been classified as the gold standard treatment option for the control of gingival enlargement. Wound recovery after gingivectomy and gingivoplasty occurs by secondary intention healing, thus post-surgical wounds can be strongly associated with discomfort, pain and delayed healing. For that reason, the first group will consist of 13 patients who will be exposed to hyaluronic acid gel or gingigel and photobiomodulation therapy to see if there is significant results in the post-operative healing phase. The second group will also consist of 13 patients who will undergo only photobiomodulation therapy. While the third group will have no clinical supportive care besides follow-up and analgesics upon request.

All the values will be determined by using scores such as Visual analogue scale for pain, Landry's index for healing assessment and oral health quality of life, which consists of 14 questions to asses the enhancement of everyday problems affected by dental situations.

Each case will be followed-up for 3 months post-operative.

Study Overview

• Status: Enrolling by invitation
• Conditions: Gingival Enlargement; Gingival Hyperplasia; Gingival Hypertrophy; Gingival Overgrowth; Low-level-laser Theraphy; Photobiomodulation Therapy
• Intervention / Treatment: Drug: Gengigel; Device: LASER

Detailed Description

The study group consisted of thirty-nine surgical gingivectomy wound sites on patients presenting with gingival hypertrophy on maxillary or mandibular anterior region. Groups will be randomly and equally divided into three groups, Group-A (Test Group 1): Surgical sites after gingivectomy procedures will be irradiated with diode laser (Photobiomodulation therapy) at (940 nm, 0.21 W) with a fiber tip diameter of 400μm for 30 seconds, then covered with HA Gel. Group-B (Test Group 2): Surgical sites will be irradiated with diode laser only at (940 nm, 0.21 W). Group-C (Control Group): No post-surgical therapy will be performed. Wound healing was assessed by implementing Landry, Turnbull and Howley Healing index, while pain perception was objectively evaluated by the patients using the visual analog scale (VAS). To further evaluate the patient's quality of life, Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14) records will be obtained before and after gingivectomy.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 38
• Phase: Early Phase 1

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Lebanon
  • Beirut, Lebanon
    • Beirut Arab University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patient health ASA I, II
• Average age from 18 to 40 years
• Both genders
• Chronic inflammatory gingival enlargement
• Adequate amount of keratinized tissue.
• Well educated patients as post-operative instructions need to be followed precisely.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Smokers
• Bad oral hygiene
• Allergy to Hyaluronic acid or cosmetic fillers containing H.A
• Any patient under oral contraceptives or immunosuppressive drugs
• Patients undergoing radiotherapy or chemotherapy
• Pregnant or lactating mothers
• Mentally disturbed patients
• Excessive gag reflex
• Patients who refuse to sign informed consent.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

3

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: test group (Group A); Surgical sites after gingivectomy procedures will be irradiated with diode laser (Photobiomodulation therapy) then covered with HA Gel.	Drug: Gengigel; The use of Gingigel or 0.2% hyaluronic gel is expected to enhance healing and decrease discomfort in the post-operative period. It exhibits viscoelastic characteristic which serves as osteo-conductive, anti-edematous, antifungal and bacteriostatic effects.; Other Names: 0.2% hyaluronic acid gel; Device: LASER; PBMT has markedly been effective in reducing pain, inflammation, edema and postoperative discomfort. It is said to be a natural and effective alternative approach to minimize medicaments prescription such as analgesics, anti-inflammatory or antibiotic drugs. With that said, negative outcomes such as drug side effects, bacterial resistance and post-operative complications can be prevented, thus increasing the success of medical care and assuring a better quality of life; Other Names: cold lasers; Low-level-laser therapy; low-intensity lasers; non-thermal lasers
Active Comparator: test group (Group B); Surgical sites will be irradiated with diode laser only	Device: LASER; PBMT has markedly been effective in reducing pain, inflammation, edema and postoperative discomfort. It is said to be a natural and effective alternative approach to minimize medicaments prescription such as analgesics, anti-inflammatory or antibiotic drugs. With that said, negative outcomes such as drug side effects, bacterial resistance and post-operative complications can be prevented, thus increasing the success of medical care and assuring a better quality of life; Other Names: cold lasers; Low-level-laser therapy; low-intensity lasers; non-thermal lasers
No Intervention: control group (group c); No post-surgical therapy will be performed

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Landry's healing index	to asses the wound healing progress post-surgically in the 3 groups and see how photobiomodulation therapy and the application of hyaluronic acid can enhance the post-operative period. Five variables are assessed: tissue color, bleeding on palpation, the presence of granulation tissue, the incision margin and suppuration. It ranges from 1 to 5, with 1 indicating poor healing and 5 indicating excellent healing	Wound healing assessed by implementing Landry, Turnbull and Howley Healing index on the 3rd, 7th, 14th, 21st day, 1 month, 2 months and 3 months after the post-surgical procedure.
Visual analogue scale	to asses the subjected level of pain by the patient throughout the healing process with a minimum score of 0 meaning no pain (best) and a maximum score of 10 meaning severe pain (worse)	Pain perception will be evaluated by using the visual analog scale on the 3rd, 7th, 14th, 21st day and 1 month of periodic follow-up

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Oral health impact profile 14 questions	to asses the quality of life of patients prior the surgery due to their condition to asses the enhancement of the patient's condition after the surgery and asses how the post-operative interventions bettered their post-operative experience. To asses the condition you sum the numerical values of each of the 14 items with a 5-point likert scale 0= never 1= hardly ever 2= ocassionally 3=fairly often 4= very often then you sum the scores of all 14 question to get a total score from 0-56. closer to 56 = greater negative impact of oral health problems on the quality of life closer to 0 =better oral-health related quality of life	pre-operative post-operative - on the 7th day - on the 14th day

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Beirut Arab University
• Investigators: Study Director: Rania Abdel Fahmy, Phd, Beirut Arab University; Study Chair: Nayer Abo Saad, Phd, Beirut Arab University

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Yakout BK, Kamel FR, Khadr MAEA, Heikal LAH, El-Kimary GI. Efficacy of hyaluronic acid gel and photobiomodulation therapy on wound healing after surgical gingivectomy: a randomized controlled clinical trial. BMC Oral Health. 2023 Oct 27;23(1):805. doi: 10.1186/s12903-023-03519-5.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): November 11, 2025
• Primary Completion (Estimated): February 11, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): November 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: September 5, 2025
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 5, 2025
• First Posted (Estimated): September 11, 2025

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): November 14, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 13, 2025
• Last Verified: November 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: LLLT; PBMT; GO; GE
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Periodontal Diseases; Mouth Diseases; Stomatognathic Diseases; Gingival Diseases; Gingival Hyperplasia; Gingival Hypertrophy; Gingival Overgrowth; Therapeutics; Equipment and Supplies; Optical Devices; Radiation Equipment and Supplies; Laser Therapy; Phototherapy; Low-Level Light Therapy; Lasers
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2025-H-0160-D-M-0692

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No