Diode laser (808 nm) Versus Rotary Abrasion in the Treatment of Gingival Hyper Pigmentation (Comparative Study)

Abstract

Background: Dark or black colored gingiva is an important esthetic concern. Gingival depigmentation procedure is a type of perio plastic surgery where the gingival epithelium is excised with various techniques to lighten the color of the gingiva. The aim of this study was to compare gingival depigmentation procedure with conventional rotary technique and diode laser. Method: This comparative clinical trial study was carried out among twelve patients who attended the department of periodontology, Khartoum dental teaching hospital and Dafenshy Dental Clinic complaining of gingival hyperpigmentation. Patients were informed about the treatment modalities and signs informed written consents to participate voluntary. Patients were divided into two groups, group one, treated conventionally first for one jaw and after one week the other jaw was treated by diode laser, while group two treated by laser first and then after one week by conventional methods. Gingival depigmentation was done by diamond bur as conventional method and soft tissue diode laser with 808nm wavelength in continuous mode. The fiber optic tip diameter was 600mm lased with power of 1.5 w. Post operative complication (bleeding ,swelling and infection) , the pain perception by using the (VAS), wound healing ,patients comfort ability and satisfaction had been assessed after both procedures in interval of three hours , three days and one week. Results: In this study most of the subjects did not complain of the post operative complications (swelling, infection and bleeding) after diamond bur and diode laser depigmentation. There were Statistical significant difference between VAS in diamond bur group and VAS in diode laser group after 3hours and three days. In gingival depigmentation with diode laser the subjects complained of moderate pain while the site treated with diamond bur abrasion only mild pain was felt, although both sites show decreased in the pain perception by the end of the first week. The gingiva that treated with diode laser shows delayed in the wound healing but despite this most of the subjects was very satisfied by the beautiful pink gingival color in comparison with fair pink with diamond bur abrasion. Conclusion: Despite the diode laser depigmentation was associated with delayed wound healing and discomfortable for some subjects; most of the responders were very satisfied about the esthetic results and time preservation with diode laser therapy more than the conventional abrasion method.