Effect of a phthalocyanine mouthrinse after connective tissue graft surgery for root coverage: a randomized split-mouth clinical trial.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate effects of self-activating phthalocyanine mouthrinse on recipient sites of subepithelial connective tissue graft (SCTG), considering clinical outcomes, professional and patient assessments and quantitative somatosensory changes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This randomized controlled, crossover, split-mouth clinical trial included 20 patients treated with SCTG plus coronally advanced flap (CAF). Recipient sites received 0.12% iron phthalocyanine mouthrinse (test group-PHY) and 0.12% chlorhexidine (control group-CHX) during 14 postoperative days. The primary outcome was percentage of root coverage (%RC) at 6 months. Secondary outcomes included clinical parameters (probing depth, PD; recession depth and width, RD, RW; percentage of complete root coverage (CRC); clinical attachment level, CAL; keratinized tissue thickness and width, KTT, KTW), professional- and patient-reported outcomes, mechanical detection threshold (MDT) and mechanical pain threshold (MPT). RESULTS: PHY and CHX groups showed significant improvements in clinical parameters, including reduced RD and RW, CAL gain, and increased KTW and KTT (p < 0.05). %RC was similar between groups, at approximately 80%. Professional- and patient-reported outcomes, including dentin hypersensitivity and esthetic perception, as well as MPT and MDT, showed no significant differences between groups. Postoperative symptoms decreased progressively, and oral health-related quality of life remained unchanged after 6 months. CONCLUSIONS: Postoperative use of phthalocyanine after CAF + SCTG resulted in clinical outcomes comparable to chlorhexidine, including similar root coverage, with no differences in professional-, patient-centered outcomes, somatosensory profile, or oral health-related quality of life. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Iron phthalocyanine may represent a promising alternative for postoperative care in periodontal plastic surgeries.