Management of Gingival Pigmentation with Diode Laser: Is It a Predictive Tool?

Abstract

Today, an attractive smile is the vogue for many individuals. Gingival health and appearance are essential components for an attractive smile and removal of unsightly pigmented gingival is the need for a pleasant and confident smile. In some populations, gingival pigmentation seems to be a genetic trait and is irrespective of age and gender, hence gingival pigmentation is termed as physiologic or racial gingival pigmentation. Intraoral pigmentation is seen due to the presence of the fundamental pigment melanin that colors the tissues. Several treatment modalities have been suggested for gingival depigmentation. Many varying results have been observed, but the repigmentation has been documented to occur. The large variation in time of repigmentation may be related to the techniques used and the race of the patient. This case report demonstrates the probable cause of repigmentation where pigmentation has recurred limbs.

Gingival depigmentation by Er,Cr:YSGG laser and diode laser: a split mouth, clinical trial study

“…In some studies, DOPI and Hedin indices were used for evaluation of clinical changes of pigmentation 28) and in other studies, clinicians expressed their opinion about changes of pigmentation of qualitative and descriptive method by commenting on clinical observation 3,24,[27][28][29] or viewing of photographs 17,24,28,29) . They didn't use special indices; therefore, we were not able to do exact comparative evaluation with their study.…”

A comparative clinical study between the efficacy of Nd:YAG laser and Diode laser in the management of physiologic gingival melanin pigmentation

“…Atsawasuwan et al 35 reported no recurrence during 11-to 13-month follow-up period in four patients using Nd:YAG laser for depigmentation. Doshi et al 36 reported in a case reportusing diode laser for depigmentationthat there were mild melanotic patches that started to occur after 3 months of treatment in different gingival regions. Those patches increased in size for a year after treatment.…”

Minimally invasive non-surgical locally injected vitamin C versus the conventional surgical depigmentation in treatment of gingival hyperpigmentation of the anterior esthetic zone: A prospective comparative study

“…Different treatment modalities have been utilized as a part to overcome the gingival hyperpigmentation. The selection of the appropriate depigmenting technique ought to be based on the type of presenting pigment, gingival biotype, clinical experience, patient's financial status and individual preferences [18,19] (Doshi et al, 2012 andPatil et al, 2015).…”