A-PRF and CGF Eased Palatal Donor Site Pain but Did Not Speed Healing

Edited by Dentaltown staff

Neither advanced platelet-rich fibrin nor concentrated growth factor membranes accelerated palatal wound healing after free gingival graft harvesting, though both reduced early postoperative discomfort and immediate bleeding, according to a randomized clinical trial published Aug. 24 in BMC Oral Health.

Forty-five patients who underwent free gingival graft harvesting were randomly assigned in equal groups of 15. A control group received only a sterile gelatin sponge at the donor site. The second group received A-PRF clot membranes and the third received CGF clot membranes.

Epithelialization rate, color match, and sensation scores were assessed at one, two, three, and four weeks. Patients self-reported pain levels, analgesic consumption, and bleeding time over the first seven days.

Epithelialization showed no significant difference among the three groups at any time point, and neither did sensitivity scores.

Where the membranes did register was comfort and appearance. Palatal color matching was better in both the A-PRF and CGF groups than in the control group at one and two weeks. Immediate bleeding time at the donor site was significantly shorter in both membrane groups.

Pain results favored CGF. Visual analog scale pain scores and the number of analgesic tablets taken were lower in the CGF group than in the control group on days two, three, four, and five. At 14 days, pain scores were significantly lower in both the A-PRF and CGF groups than in the control group. Late bleeding at seven days showed no difference among the groups.

The authors concluded that CGF held a slight advantage over A-PRF, but that the benefits of both are confined mainly to postoperative comfort and immediate hemostasis rather than faster epithelialization or sensory recovery.

Figen Öngöz Dede, Ceren Gökmenoglu, Kübra Çelen, Dogu Ömür Dede, Yunus Emre Güner, and Varol Çanakçi conducted the trial.

Fifteen patients per arm is a small allocation for detecting differences in healing rate. The trial was also registered with ClinicalTrials.gov retrospectively, in February 2026, which the authors disclose in the paper.

Sources:
BMC Oral Health, “Effects on patients postoperative morbidity and donor site wound healing of A-PRF and CGF application after free gingival graft harvesting: a comparative randomized clinical trial,” published online Aug. 24, 2026: link.springer.com/10.1186/s12903-026-09616-5