Esthetic Treatment of Gingival Melanin Hyperpigmentation With Er:YAG Laser: Short‐Term Clinical Observations and Patient Follow‐Up

Abstract

Background: Recently, the erbium‐doped:yttrium, aluminum, and garnet (Er:YAG) laser has been applied effectively for periodontal soft tissue management. The purpose of this study was to report removal of gingival melanin pigmentation using an Er:YAG laser in a short‐term clinical observation. Methods: Five patients with gingival melanin pigmentation participated in this study. Irradiation was performed at 64.0 mJ/pulse (8.5 J/cm2 per pulse) and 10 Hz under water spray in contact mode. Clinical parameters, such as bleeding, swelling, redness, and healing, were evaluated immediately after the surgery and 24 hours, 1 and 4 weeks, and 3 months later. A visual analog scale was used to evaluate the pain level experienced. Results: The Er:YAG laser effectively ablated the epithelial tissue containing melanin pigmentation. At 1 week, gingiva showed fast epithelization with a healthy appearance in all cases. At 2 weeks, gingiva showed satisfactory healing with significant improvement in color and recovery of the tissue thickness. At 1 month, complete healing was observed; after the 3‐month evaluation, no gingival deformity or recession was observed. However, there was a slight recurrence in one case. Conclusion: Removal of gingival melanin pigmentation can be performed safely by Er:YAG laser resulting in an esthetically significant improvement of gingival discoloration.

Esthetic treatment of gingival melanin hyperpigmentation with a Nd:YAG laser and high speed rotary instrument: comparative case report

“…The degree of the pigmentation seems to be related to the differences in melanocyte activity. High levels of oral pigmentation are usually observed in those of African, East Asian, or Hispanic ethnicity [5]. …”

Energy output reduction and surface alteration of quartz and sapphire tips following Er:YAG laser contact irradiation for tooth enamel ablation

“…Later, the Er:YAG laser was applied in periodontal therapy and many in vitro and in vivo studies have been reported [17][18][19][20][21][22]. Clinical studies evaluating the application of the Er:YAG laser for nonsurgical and surgical periodontal pocket treatment, including root surface debridement [23,24] as well as soft and bone tissue surgeries [25,26], have demonstrated its effectiveness in periodontics [6,27,28]. Recently, several studies demonstrated that the Er:YAG laser has a promising and important role in the field of implant dentistry [7], for gingival and bone tissue management during implant placement procedures [29], as well as for debridement of contaminated implant surfaces and bone defects in the surgical treatment of periimplantitis [30][31][32].…”

Energy output reduction and surface alteration of quartz tips following Er:YAG laser contact irradiation on soft and hard tissues <i>in vitro </i>

“…Therefore, in the present study, changes in the energy output and surface topography of the quartz tips following ErL contact irradiation on periodontal soft and hard tissues were investigated. Generally, ErL is used with water cooling to facilitate ablation and to prevent thermal damage during ablation of both soft and hard tissues such as gingiva, teeth, calculus, and alveolar bone [42][43][44][45] , but occasionally, ErL is used without water cooling on soft tissues to enhance hemostasis by thermal effects. Therefore, in the present study, the irradiation was conducted with water spray in hard tissue ablation, and irradiation was employed both with and without water spray in soft tissue ablation.…”