Title

Clinical evaluation of injectable platelet-rich fibrin and microneedling for gingival phenotype enhancement: A comparative clinical study

Authors

Bhawna Shyamsukha^1,*, Meenakshi Boddun¹, Hiroj Bagde², Aniket Sharan³, Ritika Rathi¹ & Yash Oswal⁴

Affiliation

¹Department of Periodontology and Implantology, Chhattisgarh Dental College & Research Institute, Rajnandgaon; ² Department of Periodontology and Implantology, Government Dental College & Hospital, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar; ³SDC Dental Clinic, Rajnandgaon, Chhattisgarh, India; ⁴Department of Oral Pathology & Oral Microbiology, Dr. D. Y. Patil Vidyapeeth, Pimpri, Pune, India; *Corresponding author

Email

Bhawna Shyamsukha - E-mail: bhawna26jain@gmail.com; Phone: +91 8839594009
Meenakshi Boddun - E-mail: boddunmeenakshi@gmail.com; Phone: +91 7049059092
Hiroj Bagde - E-mail: hirojbagde8@gmail.com; Phone: +91 9766105900
Aniket Sharan - E-mail: aniketsharan89@gmail.com; Phone: +91 9131547048
Ritika Rathi - E-mail: rits26rathi@gmail.com; Phone: +91 8349394491
Yash Oswal - E-mail: yashoswal0715@gmail.com; Phone: +91 8411865521

Article Type

Research Article

Date

Received August 1, 2026; Revised August 31, 2026; Accepted August 31, 2026, Published August 31, 2026

Abstract

Thin gingival phenotype increases susceptibility to gingival recession and aesthetic compromise, while predictable minimally invasive approaches for phenotype enhancement remain limited. Sixty adults with thin gingival phenotype (GT <1.5 mm) were randomized to i-PRF alone or i-PRF+ microneedling (MN), with gingival thickness, keratinized tissue width, plaque index and BOP% measured at baseline, 3 and 6 months. Data were analyzed using appropriate parametric/non-parametric tests, repeated-measures ANOVA and Bonferroni correction (α=0.05). Both treatments significantly improved GT, KTW, PI and BOP%. i-PRF+MN produced a greater GT gain (Δ0.58 mm vs Δ0.42 mm; p<0.001); keratinized tissue width gains were similar. Thus, adjunctive microneedling with i-PRF offers superior gingival thickness augmentation as a minimally invasive option.

Keywords

Injectable platelet-rich fibrin (i-PRF), microneedling, gingival thickness (GT), keratinized tissue width (KTW), thin gingival phenotype

Citation

Shyamsukha et al. Bioinformation 22(8): 5392-5395 (2026)

Edited by

Hiroj Bagde

ISSN

0973-2063

Publisher

Biomedical Informatics

License

This is an Open Access article which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. This is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.