5 gum depigmentation treatments to get rid of dark gums
In our earlier blog post, we had discussed the possible causes of dark spots or discoloration in gums. Apart from the consequence of smoking and side effects of certain medications and illness, excess melanin pigment in the body darken your gums. Fortunately, you have a variety of solutions to get rid of such dark gums. They are termed gum de-pigmentation treatments.
Gum depigmentation, also known as gum bleaching or gum whitening is a cosmetic periodontic procedure that tends to remove the extra or unwanted pigmentation from gums.
If you are keen on the aesthetic preference for pink gums, then you can go for this treatment. It is a simple procedure that takes around 45 minutes but the results will last longer for 20 years and even more. Keep reading to find out the widely used professional treatments to lighten the dark gums.
1) Surgical Technique
It is a traditional way of whitening. In this procedure, the dentists remove pigmented epithelium whereas the underlying pink tissues are exhibited. Dentists numb the oral tissues and equip scalpels to scrape the outer surface of gums so that bleeding and trauma are inevitable.
The surgical wounds will heal within a few days. The periodontists would give dressing for one week to protect the treated site from possible infections.
2) Bur abrasion
This is also a surgical approach but the dentists utilize dental burs to whiten the gums. In dental burs, the dentists remove the discolored gum surfaces by rotating the high-speed motors of dental burs with controlled speed & pressure to make strokes so that the pigmented areas of tissues are removed.
3) Electrosurgery
Electrosurgery is one of the sophisticated techniques to remove excess tissues. The procedure involves the constant application of current to the tissues. It stimulates warmth and destructs the tissues on which the heat is induced. Despite it sounds risky, it is safe and the tissues can heal quickly.
4) Cryosurgery
Cryosurgery is a painless solution that involves destructing the cells and atypical tissues using extreme cold produced by liquid nitrogen, argon gas, or tetrafluoroethane. It has various advantages over other options to lighten the gums, such as being easy to direct towards the discolored tissues, no need for anesthesia or dressings.
5) Laser Surgery
Laser surgery – The most advanced & widely preferred solution for gum de-pigmentation. In laser dentistry, the surgeons focus a beam of laser light towards the gum’s dark layer so that the light extracts the dark layer from the gum surfaces to a great extent and unveils the pale, pink-colored tissues beneath it.
Can anyone with black gums get gum bleaching treatments?
In essence, if your gums are healthy, you will be eligible to get gum depigmentation treatments. This cosmetic periodontic solution is not suitable for the following people:
- People whose gums turn black due to periodontal diseases
- People with thin gum tissues
- People who have weak tooth roots
- People who are taking blood thinners
Bottom line
Gum whitening is a simple procedure and is identical to teeth whitening treatments but dentists do not exploit any bleaching agents to remove dark spots on gums. This is because the whitening agents will injure the gum tissues so that dentists prefer sophisticated accessories and advanced solutions like laser dentistry to whiten your gums.
