Investigation of the Efficacy of Hypochlorous Acid as a Postoperative Wound Antiseptic: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Study

Objective: This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of hypochlorous acid (HA) as a postoperative wound antiseptic in patients undergoing gingivectomy. Material and Methods: Twenty four patients who were diagnosed with chronic inflammatory gingival overgrowth were included in the study. After the gingivectomy procedure, patients were randomly divided into 3 groups according to the mouthwash they used for postoperative wound care; 1) HA group, 2) Chlorhexidine (CHX) group, 3) Saline (control) group. Records of the operation area were taken at the beginning, on the 1st, 3rd and 7th days. Periodontal indexes, visual analog scale (VAS), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), plaque staining agent test, and histological analyzes were used to evaluate wound healing. The data were analyzed statistically. Results: The HA and CHX groups were statistically significantly lower than the control group in the plaque index and bleeding on probing values measured on the 7th day (p<0.05). There was no statistically significant difference between groups in VAS and H2O2 test (p>0.05). In the staining agent test, no statistically significant difference was found between control days in all groups and between the groups. In the histological analysis, statistically significantly more keratinocyte cells were found in the HA group than both groups in the samples taken on control days (p<0.05). Conclusion: HA has been histologically proven to support wound healing after periodontal surgery. HA can be recommended as a good alternative to CHX for postoperative wound care.