Color of gums play a crucial role in aesthetics of a smile. Normal color of a gum should be coral pink, but due to deposition of melanin gums appear to be darker. The most common cause of darker pigments in the gums is genetics. Excess melanin can build up in the gums, making them look brown or black instead of pink Several lifestyle factors like smoking tobacco, several medications or amalgam tattoo could also be the reason for darker gums. The extra pigment does not indicate any disease or dysfunction.Patients seek treatment because of an aesthetic preference for pink gums that showcase their teeth better.Gum depigmentation with the help of lasers is a minimally invasive procedure where the laser energy is used to peel off the gingival epithelium. Laser causes less bleeding, post opt complications like pain, swelling and infection are also less compared to surgical techniques.
Questions
What Is the Healing Process Like?
Patients who utilize a dental laser can expect minor discomfort and no complications after the treatment. Patients with very sensitive gums may experience some discomfort for a short period of time. Patients can expect to be able to speak and eat normally immediately after the treatment is completed.
Everything heals in about 2 weeks .
How Long Does the Gum De-pigmentation Treatment Last?
One gum depigmentation treatment can last 20 years or up to a lifetime.
How Long Does the Treatment Take?
The procedure takes 20-45 minutes depending on the colour and size of the dark patch. We will give you local anaesthetic to make the procedure as comfortable as possible .
What happens if I still have a few pigments left once the gums have healed.
On your review appointment we can go over the areas that you can still see some pigmentation .
Can I smoke ?
We encourage all smokers to stop smoking completely after the procedure as smoking is one of the causes of pigmentation.
You need to stop smoking for at least 7 days after the procedure .
The treatment process
Laser Gum Depigmentation vaporizes and removes a thin top layer of the gum tissue, destroying the cells that produce melanin. As new tissue is created during healing, it tends to be pink rather than brown. The treatment may require a local anesthetic injection and has a short recovery time with manageable discomfort. Sometime depending on the colour and depth of the dark patch, it could take several sessions to achieve the desired degree of lightening.
Who Is a Candidate?
The main guideline is simply that the gums must be healthy. We can assess your gum health at the free consultation that you have with our dentist.
This cosmetic treatment is not suitable for:
- Patients with oral disease
- Patients with dark gums caused by periodontal disease (this is not a surface pigment problem)
- Patients taking blood thinners (these can cause excessive bleeding during treatment)
- Patients with thin gum tissue or prominent tooth roots (they may experience ongoing sensitivity if roots are accidentally exposed by the removal of gum tissue)
