Background: Elimination of gingival pigmentation is a common demand in dental cosmetic. Various methods have been reported in clinical practice. However, simplicity and safety of the technique and maintenance of the results is often a challenge. The aim of this study is to evaluate the clinical effect, patient satisfaction and recurrence rate of pigmentation following surgical scraping technique for gingival depigmentation.
Subjects and Methods: This time series prospective clinical study included 15 healthy non-smoker patients seeking gingival depigmentation for esthetic reason. The patients' sex and age were recorded. Then pigmented gingiva of the whole arch was scraped using Kirkland periodontal knife until the entire visible pigmentation was removed. Dummett-Gupta Oral Pigmentation Index (DOI) was recorded at baseline, 1 month, and 6 months. Patients' satisfaction and frequency of re-pigmentation were also evaluated.
Results: The mean DOI decreased significantly from 2.53 (0.52) at baseline to 0.60 (0.51) after 1 month and the 6 month score was 0.93 (0.59). By the end of 1 month the percentage of cases that showed any sign of pigmentation recurrence was 13.3% and 33.3% by the end of 6 months, 10 patients (66.6%) had persistence results and no cases returned to baseline score. (86.7%) experienced no pain during the surgical procedure and only (33.3%) had severe pain at the day of surgery and all patients were pain free in the first week. (80%) reported marked cosmetic changes by the end of 1st week and 6 months.
Conclusion: The surgical scarping gingival depigmentation technique produced desired and persistence clinical results up to 6 months and all patients were satisfied with the procedure and cosmetic outcomes.