Abstract

MANAGEMENT OF GINGIVAL HYPERPIGMENTATION USING DIODE LASER: A CASE REPORT AND REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Suchetha Aghanashini, Aparna Suraj N.*, Sapna Nadiger, Darshan B. Mundinamane, Apoorva Sokke Mallikarjunappa and Divya Bhat

Abstract

Gingiva is the most commonly pigmented oral tissue.[1] The color of the gingiva is described as ‗coral pink‘, which is dependent on the vascular supply, the thickness and degree of keratinization of epithelium, presence of pigment such as melanin and exogenous factors (tobacco, colouring agents in foods etc.,).[1,2] An harmonious smile accounts for a perfect balance between the ‗pink‘ and ‗white‘ component of oral cavity.[3] Gingival hyperpigmentation does not pose any medical problem, but clinically it is presented as ‗black gum‘, which poses a major esthetic problem in individuals, especially with a high smile line or gummy smile. It mainly affects the confidence, selfesteem and esthetics of an individual, which can also have a psychological impact on them. This leads to the increase in demand of cosmetic procedure for depigmentation of gingiva.[4,1] There are various treatment modalities for gingival depigmentation such as abrasion of the tissues with diamond bur, scraping with scalpel, electrosurgery, cryosurgery, gingivectomy with free gingival autografting, acellular dermal matrix allografts, and use of various types of lasers.[1] Lasers are the intense sources of nonionizing electromagnetic radiation, having a specific and predictable wavelength. There are several advantages of using lasers in periodontal therapy compared to the conventional methods for gingival depigmentation.[5]

Keywords: Gingiva, Melanin, Depigmentation, Laser.[1,5]