Zinc Oxide Eugenol Paste as a Dressing Material on Surgical Raw Wounds after Wide Excision of Oral Potentially Malignant Disorders

Introduction: Oral potentially malignant disorders (PMDs) have a high risk to develop oral squamous cell carcinomas which are responsible for approximately 270,000 patients annually worldwide. When surgical excision of PMD is done, a raw denuded area is formed, which is required to be addressed. The present study was done to determine the effectiveness of zinc oxide (ZnO) eugenol paste as a dressing material of such surgical raw wounds and to assess its usefulness. Materials and Methods: A total of thirty patients with oral PMDs underwent wide surgical excision under local anesthesia. ZnO eugenol paste with preformed sterile gauge piece was applied in denuded area as dressing and sutured. Intraoperative evaluation was done on the following criteria: handling of ZnO eugenol paste and hemostasis achieved; postoperative evaluation included pain, adherence, granulation, epithelialization, reactivity to the ZnO eugenol. and overall usefulness as an intraoral dressing material. Results: Good hemostasis was obtained in 24 cases (80%). The mean score of pain was recorded as 3.5. Twenty-three cases (76%) showed granulation and epithelialization was rated as good. ZnO eugenol paste with the help of sutures showed good adherence in 29 cases (96.6%). No allergic reaction was noted. ZnO eugenol dressing was proved to be very effective in 28 cases (93.3%), effective in 2 cases (6.7%), and ineffective in 0 cases (0%). Conclusion: The chemical, physiological, and biological properties of ZnO eugenol have proved to be useful as a dressing material in cases of raw wound formed after excision of oral PMDs It is not a replacement for skin graft or collagen biodegradable membrane, but it can be one of the armamentaria for the oral surgeon in such cases.