Efficacy of recombinant human epidermal growth factor (rhEGF) incorporated in an absorbable collagen membrane for the management of gingival recession defects

Aim & ObjectivesThe aim of the present study is to evaluate the regeneration efficacy of rhEGF impregnated in collagen membrane for the management of Millers class I & class II gingival recession defects. Patients and methods18 patients with 30 Millers class I & class II gingival recession defects were treated with one of the following interventions and randomly allocated into each of the following experimental groups; Test group: rhEGF impregnated in collagen membrane, Control group: plain collagen membrane. Clinical measurements at baseline, 3 months and 6 months included decreased probing depth, recession depth and increase in width of keratinized gingiva. ResultsThere was an improvement in tissue biotype in test group and statistically significant increase in KGW from baseline to 3 months which remained constant from 3 months to 6 months(p[≤]0.001) in both the groups. Similarly, RD shows constant increase from baseline to 6 months in test group whereas there is reduction in control group (p[≤]0.003). There was significant difference in clinical parameters in both test and control groups. All the patients had an uneventful healing phase. ConclusionThe beneficial effects of rhEGF resulted in healthy wound healing process with less scarring offers more potential properties showed promising results over collagen membrane. Further larger samples are required to confirm the efficacy of rhEGF in root coverage for soft tissue regeneration.