Dentistry received 2249 citations as per Google Scholar report
Yafit Hamzani
Rabin Medical Center, Israel
Posters & Accepted Abstracts: Dentistry
Background: The quality of the healing response after oral & maxillofacial surgery (OMS) is influenced by the nature of the tissue disruption and the circumstances surrounding wound closure. The use of wound healing scales may help the surgeon anticipate and, when possible, intervene so that wound repair can progress favorably. Methodology: Studies reported in the OMS literature of the last 20 years that applied scales/indexes to monitor the wound healing process were reviewed. Results: We identified 8 scales/indexes that were developed for use in OMS, including 3 that are modifications of a previously reported scale. Most were applied in split-mouth trials of wound healing modifiers. Conclusions: Wound healing scales are infrequently used in OMS. Those that are available do not allow for an association of the outcome parameters, modifiers used, or effectiveness of the modifiers with the different phases of the wound healing process (inflammatory, proliferative, remodeling). Moreover, there is no consensus regarding the time frames that should be evaluated or the preferred scale. On the basis of these findings, we suggest a novel scale that distinguishes among the wound healing phases and yields 3 subscale scores and a total score.