Pink Gingiva is it the Needle or the Light!

Abstract

Objectiv: Gingival depigmentation is an aesthetic periodontal procedure that is carried out to eliminate gingival hyperpigmentation. Numerous depigmentation modalities are used namely surgical scraping, gingival autograft, cryosurgery, electrosurgery, and lasers. Microneddling(MN) is a novel technique that is conservative involving the creation of micro wounds and has been tried for depigmentation. Material and Methods: A 23 yrs old female patient without any systemic conditions reported to the Outpatient Department of Periodontology, Krishnadevaraya College of dental sciences and Hospital, with the chief complaint of dark-colored gums. Depigmentation with micro needling was done in the lower anterior and laser in the upper anterior region. Result: There was a considerable reduction in the oral pigmentation scores (Dummett Oral Pigmentation Index) using both techniques in the first and the fourth week. The Visual Analogue Scale score showed lesser pain in the microneedling area. Conclusion: Depigmentation using microneedling and lasers is effective. Microneedling is a simple, economical, and viable option for the removal of gingival depigmentation.